Matthew had been right to predict news of his 'altercation' with Draco Malfoy to travel quickly through the Hogwarts rumour mill. In the evening, when they had returned from Hagrid's (who had sent them on their way with a grave warning not to add fuel to the fire), the Gryffindor common room had been abuzz with speculation. The room had only quietened when they had entered, all attention on the boy culpable. Harry, or at least a very small part of him that he didn't really like, found it relaxing, not being the one with all the focus on. But this was to a magnitude that rivalled only the first couple of nights he'd had at the school, when he had still been a novelty. He didn't know how he would have reacted to everyone looking at him so intensely. Even Matthew, who was usually so calm and suave, appeared taken aback since he paused in his tracks, unmoving, although his expression didn't betray his obvious discomfort.

The silence had been broken by thunderous applause. It seemed that every Gryffindor enjoyed the thought of seeing a Slytherin being bested by one of their own. They had surrounded the bamboozled boy, cutting him off from his friends, as they asked him all sorts of questions. How it had happened, why it had happened, what spell he used, whether it was true that Malfoy wouldn't be able to walk again. That had seemed to be the breaking point for Matthew, whose face had only darkened with every increasingly preposterous rumour. The Weasley twins wondered how he had given him an actual snake's tail and, no matter how many times Matthew told them that that hadn't happened, they would just believe that he was being modest, a repetitive cycle that only served to wind him up even more.

There was a moment where Matthew had disappeared from view, swallowed by the overzealous crowd. Harry didn't see him again until he managed to make it up to their dorm, finding him lying in bed, staring at nothing in particular. The behaviour had worried Harry, only reassured when Matthew gave him a small smile in greeting. They sat in bed, not saying anything for a few moments. It was just nice to listen to the silence, cut off from the party-like atmosphere downstairs. There must have been a noise-cancelling charm put in place because their housemates were making enough noise to wake the dead and, with the number of ghosts roaming the corridors of Hogwarts, that wasn't impossible to measure.

"How's Hermione?" Matthew had asked eventually, breaking the quiet. "I saw her getting surrounded by people asking her questions. Asking her why I did it, why I would be defending her, as if I have any improper motives."

"She's fine," was Harry's simple answer. "She told them, in no uncertain terms, to keep their noses out of it." They shared a smirk at their friend's conduct. "I think they were starting to see what we already know, that she's terrifying when she wants to be."

Matthew laughed slightly but Harry could tell his heart wasn't really in it. "Did I do the right thing, Harry?"

"You said it yourself - Malfoy needed to learn that he can't behave like that. Hopefully this will deter him. If he's got any sense in him, he'll wet himself whenever you appear nearby."

"Or have I just painted a larger target on our backs, especially Hermione's? I should have thought more rationally at the time. What if other Slytherins want revenge? I'm better than this but I allowed myself to be dictated by my anger. I just…I saw how heartbroken Hermione was and…I knew I had to do something."

"Then I'm going to tell you the same thing you said to Hagrid," Harry had said forcefully. "Don't ever apologise for protecting your friends. If there are consequences to what happened, and Hagrid certainly thinks there will be, then we'll face them together."

Soon after their conversation, one Matthew had really needed, the silence had been shattered once more by the arrival of the other boys in their dorm. Ron, Seamus and Dean had fired a hurricane of questions in their direction, not getting the hint that Matthew didn't want to answer any of them. Even Neville had joined in, although more timidly than the others. Eventually, it had taken Matthew slamming the curtains closed around his bed for them to get the message that he wasn't in the mood for talking.

Now, the trio were reunited in the Great Hall for breakfast, having walked there together in an act of solidarity. It seemed that sleep had done little to dampen the attention of the masses, with eyes trained on them through the corridors and in the hall itself. People would stare in their direction as they spooned porridge into their mouths, missing the target on occasion. Hermione glared at anyone who was foolish enough to meet her eye, fending off passerbys. There wasn't any animosity in the air, which was a bonus. Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were rather pleased that Slytherin had been brought down a peg. And the snakes themselves hadn't made their move yet, if one was imminent. Draco Malfoy was a notable absentee from the morning meal, which only put them more on edge. Even more so when, whilst they tucked into a batch of freshly baked French pastries, their head of house marched over to them, her typically severe face even more pointed than usual.

Professor McGonagall came to a stop behind them. "You three," she said, avoiding any pleasantries. Her voice was clipped, as if she were holding back her fiery emotions. "You better come with me."

They rose without complaint, having half expected this. As they were led out of the hall, they could tell that all eyes were on them once more but they stubbornly kept their gaze forward. A few sniggers could be heard from Slytherin's table but none were brave enough to actually say anything. Leaving the buzz of the communal area, the corridors seemed achingly quiet, empty as they were as people ate. McGonagall's footsteps echoed heavily against the stone floor as she set a quick pace. They almost struggled to keep up with the old woman. The magic of the school seemed to dim as they walked through it, their minds unable to enjoy its comforts as they normally would. To them, this was an execution march. Matthew had his head hung. Not worried about himself, not really. If he lost this, the best thing that had happened to him, then at least he would have the comfort of knowing that it was his own fault. The one thing he truly dreaded was taking Harry and Hermione down with him, who both needed this place for their own reasons.

Harry hadn't been in the part of Hogwarts that McGonagall took them to. Matthew appeared to have a better idea, though he wasn't saying anything. Mainly because of the silence that the professor had suggested without even uttering a word. That was how imposing she could be when she was angry. Harry thought about explaining what had happened to her, to give their side of the story. He'd made a brief noise, on the verge of taking the plunge, but a quick look from the Scot had struck down that idea immediately. Hermione was biting at her lip, a clear sign that she was nervous and he wanted to say something to her, anything to reassure her that everything would be alright, but, again, he kept his mouth closed. He didn't want to risk worsening the situation.

They eventually stopped in front of a stone gargoyle, an ugly creature guarding a set of spiralling stairs. McGonagall uttered what evidently was the password (Harry was sure that he had misheard because it sounded like she'd said a type of sweet) and the statue moved out of the way for them. With a curt nod of her head, the professor gestured for them to go up the steps, closely following them behind. She was the one who knocked on a large, ornate oak door, waiting to be bidden entry. The room beyond was unlike anything Harry had ever seen. It was larger than expected, with even a balcony visible above. He might have called it gaudy, with all of the gold trimmings that decorated the stonework. Strange objects littered the shelves, magical instruments that swirled and whirred as they walked past (one even produced a blob of slime that changed colour depending on who was closest). A large desk dominated the floor plan and a recognisable figure stood perched in front of it. It suddenly clicked that this was Dumbledore's office, which meant one thing - they were in serious trouble.

The headmaster, giving the trio the briefest of smiles, wasn't the only one in the room. Draco Malfoy, a sickly pout etched on his face, was sitting on a small chair. His expression appeared to be pitiful but that seemed to be for show as, when he looked at them, his lips curled into a sneer before relaxing back into the facade. Two men stood watch behind him. Professor Snape looked just as angry as ever, seemingly disgruntled that he had been taken away from his dungeons. The other person was tall and menacing, clutching a jet black cane with a serpent's head on top. His long blonde hair clashed against his dark outfit. It didn't take a genius to figure out that this was Malfoy's father, Lucius, who Hagrid had spoken about so fearfully. They had the same pompous expression permanently on their faces, the same hateful eyes. McGonagall remained behind them and Harry suddenly realised the role she was to play here. She would never say it but she was protecting her lions, no matter what they had done, against the snakes that were poised to strike.

"Thank you for coming so promptly," Dumbledore said in greeting. "Please, take a seat. Just because we have a serious matter to attend to doesn't mean that we can't have a little comfort." With a wave of his hand, three identical plintz armchairs appeared and, not knowing what else to do, they sat down in front of the desk. "Would any of you care for a lemon drop? They're a particular favourite of mine from the Muggle world but I'm sure that you'll have heard of them, considering your backgrounds." Again, they didn't know how to react, just shaking their heads slightly.

"For goodness sake, Dumbledore," Lucius snapped. "We're here for a reason and I, for one, am tired of your incessant dawdling. I don't want to be in this room with these people for any longer than I have to."

"These people, as you refer to them, are my students and I will treat them accordingly, including giving them the respect that they deserve."

"They won't be for much longer if I have my way." He was glaring at them fiercely, as if he were trying to make them combust through the power of his gaze alone.

"You've made your position on the subject matter very clear, Lucius. Now, I think it's time that we hear the other side of the story." He looked at them, gazing over his half-moon spectacles. There was still that usual twinkle in his eyes that Harry had picked up on during the few times they had spoken, although it appeared considerably dimmed than usual. "The young Mister Malfoy has made quite an alarming claim about the actions taken by you three."

" Claim ?" Lucius spat. "I thought we had already agreed that this event has happened. Or are you calling my son a liar?"

"I didn't mean to insinuate anything of the sort." Dumbledore was toying with him, Harry could tell. It seemed that everyone in the room, barring the two Malfoys, could see what was happening, even Snape, who was rolling his eyes discreetly every time Lucius opened his mouth.

"Sir, if I may," Matthew said, leaning forward. "Whatever… Draco .." He hated using his first name but he felt it would help his case for the time being. "...has told you, I can assure you that Harry and Hermione had no part to play in it whatsoever."

Lucius scoffed and Harry saw Matthew bite heavily on his lip to keep himself from saying anything. If he did it any harder, he would be close to drawing blood. They were all feeling the same frustrations, as if nothing would be achieved with two diametrically opposed groups clashing together. Hermione was showing her frustrations by hardly moving her body, seemingly hoping that keeping completely still would avoid any of the attention falling on her. Meanwhile, Matthew was constantly wringing his hands, clamping down on his knuckles. If Harry didn't know any better, he was definitely preparing for a fight.

"Well, of course he would say that," the Malfoy patriarch said. "He wants to defend his friends and save them from a well deserved punishment. Draco explained the events clearly to you, that he was cornered unprovoked and viciously attacked! I'd advise you not to listen to this boy's lies."

Matthew exploded. "Are you serious?" he shouted, standing up from his chair. "It's your son who is lying, but when would that ever change?"

Lucius took a step forward. Harry noted that McGonagall did the same. "I'd watch your tongue in front of me. That temper of yours is liable to cause you some problems."

"Oh, please. Anything you can throw at me doesn't scare me in the slightest. Your son was in the wrong and he's using you to get out of it. And I'm not going to stand for it!"

Lucius looked towards Dumbledore, his manicured eyebrow raised. "Is this what passes as a student nowadays? Is this sort of child you're breeding at this establishment? The other governors would be very interested to know how the decorum and attitude of the Hogwarts populace is sadly deteriorating under your less than watchful eye."

"Professor Dumbledore," Matthew ground out through gritted teeth. "What I think everyone would find interesting is what truly happened between me and Draco. We were outside, minding our business, when the Slytherin quidditch team approached, heading for training, I presume. Some words were exchanged, innocuous at first. But Draco took it too far. He called Hermione a mudblood ."

McGonagall let out a small gasp. Dumbledore's gaze initially wandered over to the Slytherin, who visibly shrunk in his seat, before it settled on Hermione. "Is this true, Miss Granger?"

She nodded her head shyly. Hermione had never expected to be in the headmaster's office under these circumstances, possibly in significant trouble. This was what her nightmares were made of.

Lucius' face had gone red as he glared at his son. "This is preposterous. Draco wouldn't say such a thing, no matter how true they may be, and I won't allow his reputation to be dragged through the mud in such a way."

Harry was close to boiling point too now at the way he had insinuated that the insult was accurate. It was a combination of Matthew giving him a pointed look and McGonagall's hand on his shoulder that prevented him from shooting his mouth off. He watched as his friend prowled in front of him, like a lawyer before the jury. He in no way resembled a child at the moment.

"There's an easy way for that to be cleared up. You can take my memories. Or put me under veritaserum. Either will do and I would gladly take part if it proved what a horrible little rat the boy is. If you did the same to the rest of the people in this school, they'd show you the same thing. How he's a bully who has no respect for anyone but himself. If it takes me to make the first step towards him being accountable for his actions, then so be it. So what shall it be, Mister Malfoy, headmaster?"

The gleam in Dumbledore's had returned. Matthew had played them into a tight corner with practised ease. "It would clear things up a great deal," the old man commented. "To be fair, I don't how you could possibly object. It would only be Mister Mormont who is put under any stress. Shall we proceed?"

Again, Lucius looked at his son. They shared a glance, a silent conversation. Just from Draco's eyes, Harry could tell that he was conveying that it wouldn't end well for them. "I think we're forgetting what is truly important here," his father remarked. "What came before the attack is irrelevant. The fact that the boy who attacked my son is still standing here is a crime in itself. Draco suffered serious injuries from the fallout, on what was supposed to be his first training session for the quidditch team. It's quite possible that his talents as a seeker have been irreparably damaged and Mister Mormont would be lucky if we didn't seek compensation for that. Both the physical damage and the mental trauma."

"He landed on a bit of grass," Matthew replied easily. "I aimed it so it would cushion his fall because I'm not a monster. Despite the mental trauma that Draco has put us through over the past year, I still didn't want to seriously hurt him. So you'll consider yourself lucky that I'm such a lenient person."

Lucius grinned. "So you admit to attacking my son." He looked proud, as if he had caught his young opponent in a clever trap. But his triumph was short lived when Matthew appeared nonplussed, shrugging his shoulders.

"At no point have I denied that and, frankly, I never would. The joy of beating him so easily is a story I want spreading across the school, in the hope that no one else will be foolish enough to be intimidated by or scared of him."

"Are you going to stand for this insolence, Dumbledore? You have him on record, stating that he wants to incite the school against my son for no apparent reason other than misguided hatred and pathetic jealousy."

"Matthew has nothing to be jealous of Draco," Hermione intervened, losing her cool for the first time. She had spoken without thinking and immediately regretted it, with everyone now looking at her.

"Thank you, Hermione," Matthew said earnestly. "But I don't want you getting into trouble for what I did so could you save your impassioned speech until we're in private?" He spared enough time to wink at her playfully and she couldn't believe how calm and collected he was being in the face of such arrogance.

Dumbledore raised a hand for calm. "I'm not going to make any judgements, Lucius, until I have heard the entire story and I'm sure Mister Mormont's tale is far from over."

Matthew nodded his head. "Like I said, I'm not standing here, saying that I didn't do anything. It was my spell that hit Draco. But it took place in a wizard's duel! I allowed him to draw his wand, I even offered myself as a target for him to strike the first blow. I can't compensate for him being such an awful wizard that he wasn't able to take advantage of the situation. Whatever lies he has told you, I'm sure he didn't mention how he was beaten fair and square. I could have done a lot more damage and I think Draco is starting to realise that. Which is evidently why he's taken this course of action. Can I ask…what are the proposed punishments for me?"

"The penalty for using magic against a student in such a serious way is, of course, expulsion," Snape explained. It was the first time he had spoken during the meeting and, for some reason Harry couldn't understand, the Potions Master didn't sound too pleased about the prospect. He would have thought that the Head of Slytherin would have been jumping for joy at the thought of getting rid of them. Hermione let out a small gasp at the threat.

"Exactly," Matthew continued. "He's doing this to get rid of me because he's now scared of me. And the bully of the school can't be seen to be scared of anyone. His prominence is built solely on reputation rather than any defining skill, so no wonder he's so worried."

"That's enough, you pathetic excuse for a wizard!" Lucius bellowed and his hand went dangerously close to the tip of his cane. Matthew, whose own staff wasn't anywhere to be seen, rolled his arms in defiance. "I want him out of this school by the end of the day."

"I'll accept whatever punishment you decide, headmaster. As long as Harry and Hermione are left out of it."

"No!" Harry exclaimed. He couldn't lose his first friend, not like this.

Hermione looked just as panicked. "That's not fair!"

"I'm the one who did it, not them. All they did was act as innocent bystanders." Matthew wasn't backing down, even with the sensation of the gazes burning into the back of his skull.

Dumbledore had moved to the other side of his desk, taking a seat and leaning forward with his fingers steepled together. "I see no reason for Mister Mormont to be expelled. From the sounds of things, it seems that he was practising safe duelling techniques, a key part of any Defence Against the Dark Arts curriculum. I'm sure that Professor Lockhart has simply made them a tad too overzealous for their own good. That being said, I can see how his actions were misplaced, which is why he will be serving two detentions with me. We'll be able to arrange a suitable date at a later time."

Lucius Malfoy looked apoplectic. He marched over to the dark, slamming his hands on it. "This…is an outrage!"

"Just be happy that I am not punishing dear Draco in the same manner for his foul language. That can be dealt with by his head of house, where I'm sure house points will be deducted accordingly."

"You've made a rod for your own back, you old fool. Wait until the other governors hear of this. They will be disgusted at how a member of one of the finest wizarding families is being treated at this school. You act smug now but I wouldn't be getting too comfortable in that chair of yours. Your days as headmaster are numbered."

"We will cross that hurdle when it arrives. Now, Professor Snape, would you care to escort the father and son out of my office? I'm certain Lucius has a great many pressing matters to attend to, including searching for my resignation papers apparently."

Snape nodded his head obligingly. Draco got up incredibly quickly, wanting to get out of there as fast as possible. His father swirled around in disgust, his cape billowing behind him as he marched away. Matthew gleefully waved them off, whilst his two friends let out relieved puffs of air.

"Thank you, Professor Dumbledore," Matthew said earnestly.

"One should not have to thank anyone for good justice to be served. But I'm hoping that we will avoid similar matters going into the future?" He raised both of his white eyebrows in question.

"I'll try my best."

And, with that, they were leaving Dumbledore's office, all three of them mightily relieved that they were still students at Hogwarts. For some reason, Harry started to laugh, the release of all the tension he'd been feeling. Matthew looked at him as if he'd grown a second head, whilst Hermione could only muster the barest of smiles. Her nerves were still completely shot from the episode.

"That was amazing!" Harry decreed. "You are…something else, Matthew. You really are. The way you kept standing up to Malfoy's dad! It was brilliant! I wouldn't have been brave enough to do that. No wonder you were put in Gryffindor."

"I'm glad that you didn't get yourself into more trouble," Hermione said, hitting him on the arm in annoyance. "At times, it was like you were trying to get yourself expelled with the way you were acting!"

"I was standing up for myself," Matthew replied defensively. It was easy to go toe to toe with Lucius Malfoy but it was a much more daunting task when faced with Hermione.

"And then your self-sacrificial tendencies! Trying to save us instead of focusing on keeping yourself at the school. Hopefully you've learned a valuable lesson today. To use your words instead of your wand."

"I don't know about. I'm going to go to bed with a smile on my face, thinking of how terrified Malfoy was at the end of that meeting. Don't you think, Harry?" He glanced back in his friend's direction, puzzled as to why he had stopped. "Is everything okay?"

"Did you hear that?" Harry asked, frozen with fear. He hadn't heard it clearly but there definitely had been a voice. He was sure of it.

"Come…come to me…let me rip you…let me tear you…let me kill you. " It was a voice that sent a chill down his spine, a voice laced with venom.

"There it is again! Can you not hear it?"

Hermione was frowning. "There's no sound, Harry. There's no one else around."

"Are you sure?"

"Maybe we should get you back to the common room so you can have a lie down," Matthew suggested.

"Yeah…that's a good idea. I'm probably just still rattled from what just happened." But, as they walked further down the corridor, Harry internally became more adamant that there had definitely been a voice, as if something was lurking around every corner.