Chapter 26 :

The Scribe was one of the most well kept secrets of the Slytherin House, a stain of their past sins and the hard-earned proof that they learned from their mistakes. They were an outlier in the in-House Politics : the Ultimate Neutral Party. They not only acted as a referee and mediator in case of disagreements and discontentment, they were also the disciplinary committee that made sure that every sentence given by the Head of House was properly followed. Their main task though, was to record every schemes and shenanigans going on in the Slytherin House. The records were of course available for every Slytherins, and it was even advised to consult them to stay up-to-date. Scribe was, after all, a post that came into existence after many in-House bloodsheds and feuds.

The current Scribe was a sixth year girl named Anisa. She was nearing the end of her career and therefore already training her successor, a nice little second year whose identity was kept a secret for reasons of impartiality. It wouldn't do for the future prospect to be corrupted before their Rite of Initiation.

When the Head Girl found her, Anisa was going through data compiled by her pupil, correcting mistakes here and there.

"Anisa." Called the older girl, setting up an anti-eavesdropper perimeter around them with a wave of her wand.

"Head Girl." Solemnly greeted The Scribe in return.

"You do know that I have a name, right ?"

But her junior only raised a scornful brow, making the young woman scowl. She didn't understand why nobody ever used her name. If this went on like this, she would still be « Head Girl » even after her graduation ! She wanted to grumble about it but Anisa cut her off :

"I do not think you came to me to discuss your lack of awareness about your own standing in Life. What do you want ?"

Grinding her teeth and cursing out the other in her mind, the Head Girl answered :

"I need to know what Malfoy has been doing lately. Pucey hasn't given sign of life for days and Little Malfoy was the last to see him."

The Scribe hummed in interest, using an unknown spell that delivered the required files directly from The Archives to her hands.

"I am not surprised by your inquiry. I seem to remember that Pucey owes you fifteen galleons, sixteen sickles and three hundred knuts for the homework you helped him with." She commented distractedly, skimming through the pages before frowning. "How peculiar... Malfoy has been noted absent from the recent in-House Politics, but there have been reports that he hindered and angered quite a few Slytherins out of the House."

"So ? What is he up to ?" Asked the Head Girl, impatiently gnawing her lips.

"That's the thing : I don't know." Said Anisa, glaring at what she was reading. "It is not common practice to catalog what is done out of the Slytherin Common Room and dormitory, so we are completely blind to what happens outside. We barely have a few complaints and testimonies, but nothing that is substantial or even proven accurate. This is a great oversight of the previous Scribes and myself, it needs to be adressed immediately."

Without waiting for a retort, she stood up and put away every files on the desk with another unknown spell. Ignoring her current guest and her plight, she gracefully walked away, a withering look adorning her pretty face.

"I need to gather more data." She murmured to herself, leaving the mystified Head Girl behind her.

Ron and Harry had just left Hermione in the Library for a few minutes.

The girl had already reduced the possibility of what the young Potter would face in the Tournament, her massive research binge enlightening her to some of the secrets of the event. The First Task was historically about facing a dangerous creature, and given the Wizarding World propensity to blindly follow Tradition, he would probably have to affront a Griffin or a Thunderbird. Fortunately, Nundus had been banned from all the subsequent events after the pandemic of a plague in the fourteenth century. Why the organisers of the time thought it wise to use XXXXX classified beasts with toxic breath to contend with teenagers, they never wanted to know.

So, the two boys were simply going to the Kitchen for a snack when they were once again stopped in their tracks. And just like any other time since the Champions selection, the culprit was proudly wearing a "Potter Stinks" badge and eager to bully them. Ron heaved a sigh at this pleasant walk's unfortunate fate. He could never hang out with his best friend without interruption anymore. It was tiring. Probably more blasé than he should be, he took a muggle toy out of his bag. It was a simple water pistol stamped with the two foxes trademark of his brothers and, like anything made by the Twins, it was full of an indecipherable substance created for pranking purposes.

Luckily for the wannabe bully -a Slytherin this time-, Malfoy passed them by like a gust of wind, ripping the offending badge off their shirt and cursing them to urgently seek the nearest loos with a wave of his wand. It was a movement full of grace and experience, it was easy to see how seasoned the boy was at this kind of handiwork. He took the glory from Ron of course, but the red head could only salute the beauty of the feat. -Malfoy was surprisingly dependable lately, for someone who refused his alliance...- Finished with his business, the blond Slytherin gravely nodded to them with barely a little smirk lighting up his face, and left without a word.

The problem now dealt with, Ron put away his unholy muggle toy and turned toward his best friend with a teasing grin :

"So... You still think he has a cute smile ?" He asked knowingly, eliciting a blush from Harry.

"Plenty of people have cute smiles." Huffed the green eyed boy in a pout. "It doesn't have to mean anything."

"Uhu... And who do you think has a smile as cute as Malfoy's... ?"

"I don't know... Theo for example... ?" Harry answered, this time with a glare, warning his best friend to stop teasing him.

Ron of course had no intention of ever being lenient with him. They were brothers in all but blood after all, it was his duty to annoy him whenever possible. However, as he was going to retort, the young Potter's words finally registered in his brain. He stopped in the middle of his step, alarmed, shouting out :

"YOU HAVE SEEN NOTT SMILE AND SURVIVED !?"

He was aghast and shaken by the news.

"Well, yes." Innocently confirmed Harry. "Why do you sound so surprised ?"

Now understanding that his best mate very nearly died because he recklessly let him befriend The Devil, Ron could only whimper in agony.

AN : Haven't written in a long time but I'm putting up a chapter to tell you that I'm still alive and this is not abandonned. Don't know when the next one will come. I'm working on getting better so it may take a while. Also, introducing The Scribe ! Very minor OC that exist purely because slytherins tends to make shady deals and then forget about them, creating untold amount of chaos and feuds and unpaid debts.