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In the Great Hall, Draco sat between Theo and Daphne. Zabini and Tracey soon sat down opposite of them. Crabbe, Goyle and Millicent stood a few feet away, sneering at Theo.

Pansy walked in and examined the situations. "Oh, don't be such assholes," she told Crabbe, Goyle and Millicent and sat down next to Tracey. "You were perfectly friendly with him last year."

"Last year we still thought he was one of us," hissed Millicent.

"One of us? This is not the seventies. There is no war and there are no sides."

"Ha," huffed Goyle. "You wish. The Dark Lord will be back. Sooner than you think."

"Hmm, maybe," agreed Pansy. "But not today. So, sit down and cut the crap," Pansy growled.

"You say that now," said Crabbe, but sat down anyway. He was soon followed by the others.

The tension was palpable. No one said anything, but it was clear that Crabbe, Goyle, Millicent and many of the other year Slytherins disapproved of Theo's actions.

"As ever, I would like to remind you all that the forest on the grounds is out-of-bounds to students, as is the village of Hogsmeade to all below third year…"

Dumbledore had started his speech and Draco turned his attention away from his table and looked at the stuff table instead. What he saw, made his blood freeze. "No, no, no. This can't be true," he mumbled.

"We are pleased to welcome a new member of staff this year. Professor Slughorn" – Slughorn stood up, his bald head gleaming in the candellight, his big waist-coated belly casting the table below into shadow – "is a former colleague of mine who has agreed to resume his old post of Potions master."

"Potions?" The question echoed all over the Hall as people wondered whether they had heard right.

"Professor Snape, meanwhile," continued Dumbledore, ignoring the chatter amongst the students, "will be taking over the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

First, everything was quiet. Then, a thunderous applause erupted from the Slytherin table. Everyone cheered. Everyone but Draco, who stared at the headmaster with an open mouth. The dread and shock soon changed into fury. How could Dumbledore do this? Didn't he know what usually happened to the DADA teachers?

The headmaster waited for the Slytherins to calm down. "It is also my painful duty to inform you that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year."

"What?" Draco could hear several people gasp.

"This is due to an event that will be starting in October, and continuing throughout the school year, taking up much of the teachers' time and energy – but I am sure you will all enjoy it immensely. I have great pleasure in announcing that this year, we are to have the honor of hosting a very exciting event that has not been held for over a century. It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year."

Everyone was quiet for a while.

"You're JOKING!" Draco could hear one of the Weasley twins yell.

People started to laugh, and Dumbledore chuckled appreciatively.

"I am not joking, Mr. Weasley," he said, "though now that you mention it, I did hear an excellent one over the summer about a troll, a hag and a leprechaun who all go into a bar…"

McGonagall cleared her throat loudly.

"Er – but maybe this is not the time… no…" said Dumbledore, "where was I? Ah yes, the Triwizard Tournament…"

Draco stopped listening, he already knew all of this.

Snape, Defense teacher? Draco was still rather upset about that. Defense teachers had the habit of dying at the end of the year, so what was Dumbledore thinking? They needed Snape. Alive. And Dumbledore had promised he would do anything in his power to keep him alive. And this was the exact opposite of keeping him safe.

"Wish I could have gone to Durmstrang," Crabbe's complaint pulled Draco out of his musing. "Loads better than Hogwarts." Apparently, the revelations of the night had made him forget their disagreement momentarily.

"I heard they teach the Dark Arts," whispered Tracey.

"And don't allow mudbloods," grinned Goyle, an evil glint in his eyes.

Tracey just glared at him.

"My father wanted to send me there," Draco admitted.

"Why didn't he?" asked Pansy.

"Mother wouldn't let him. Wanted to keep me close, I guess."

"Tough luck," grumbled Goyle.

"I wouldn't say so," said Draco. "Wouldn't know you guys if I'd gone to Durmstrang."

"Awww, Draco," fawned Pansy.

"That was disgustingly sweet," laughed Daphne and Draco just grinned. Goyle looked disgusted but amused.

"I'm going for it!" Crabbe announced with enthusiasm. "I'll be the Hogwarts champion."

"Didn't you listen?" Daphne asked. "You got to be of age to enter."

"Never heard of aging potions?"

"As if you are capable enough to brew one," muttered Pansy, rolling her eyes.

They kept discussing the tournament, but Draco was only half listening, lost in thought. And the more he thought about it, the angrier he got.

As soon as the feast was over, Draco stormed into Dumbledore's office.

"Why?" Draco yelled. "Are you out of your damn mind? Why the bloody hell would you do that?"

"Good evening, Draco," greeted Dumbledore, ignoring the outbreak.

"Are you trying to kill him? Do you not care at all?."

"Have a cup of tea and take a deep breath. Then we may talk about what is bothering you."

"You- he- argh-" Draco wanted to argue some more, but knew it was pointless.

With a sigh he slumped into the seat across from Dumbledore and grabbed the cup of tea that was already waiting for him.

After a few sips he had calmed down somewhat.

"Why did you make Professor Snape the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?"

"I felt he was the best man for the job. I thought you of all people would be happy with my choice."

"Well, I would be if the position weren't jinxed. I don't want him to die at the end of the year."

"A sentiment I share with you. I will do my best to prevent this. Unfortunately, things are progressing faster than they did in your memories."

"What do you mean?" That did not sound good.

"The World Cup, for example. It didn't happen the way you remember it, did it?"

Draco stayed quiet for a while. "No. It was worse. Way worse. Things seemed better organized. There were more Death Eaters and they were more violent."

"Tell me, Draco, has your father had any meeting with other Death Eaters?"

Draco thought back to the day of Sirius' party. His father had a couple of old friends over. "Yes. But you should already know that. Severus was there as well."

Dumbledore nodded his head. "I am afraid they have started recruiting again."

Draco jumped out of his chair. "What?! That's impossible. The Dark Lord isn't even back yet!"

"They seem to be aware of the fact that someone is trying to bring Voldemort back."

"But- they-" Draco slumped back into his chair. "They weren't aware the first time this happened. Nobody knew he would return. On neither side."

"Things have changed," Dumbledore said calmly.

"You mean I have changed things. I'm making everything worse!"

"Now, now. That is not true," the headmaster said gently.

"Of course it's true! It's my fault the Death Eaters are recruiting already. It is my fault, Mr. Nott got arrested and Theo disowned and quasi orphaned and is now shunned by everyone!"

Dumbledore looked at Draco with a kind smile. "Did you tell Mr. Nott to stand up to his father?"

"No, but- Well, I told him not to do anything, to keep his head down, but he didn't listen."

"So, is it your fault then that he did try to stop his father?"

"He didn't do it originally and I am the only thing that is different, so yes," Draco growled.

"No." Dumbledore's answer surprised Draco. "You did not tell him what to do. You simply gave him a choice. You gave him a choice he did not have in the original timeline."

"What?"

"By being his friend and showing him another way, you showed him an option and gave him the strength to choose what he felt was right instead of letting his fear decide his path." Dumbledore gave Draco some time to digest that. "Not everything bad that happens from now on is your fault. People still make their own decisions. You did not force anyone's hand. Originally, Mr. Nott only had one feasible option available to him. You showed him a second one, but the decision was still his to make. Do you understand this?"

Draco gave this some thought. He felt infinitely lighter. "Yes, I think I do."

"Very well then. As I said, things happen faster but that does not necessarily mean that they are worse. A lot of the changes have been good. Sirius Black would be one such example. Alastor Moody would be another. We could prevent his attack. Unfortunately, the perpetrators got away. Still, you saved him from a year-long imprisonment."

"But why not make him our Defense teacher?" Draco asked, returning to the original reason why he had come to Dumbledore.

"I fear he will be otherwise occupied this year."

"You think there will be Death Eater attacks? Before his return?"

"There most likely will be. In any case, the students, now more than ever, need a capable and invested Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

"Alright, I guess I can see your point. I just don't want him to die again," Draco sighed.

"I will do everything I can to prevent such a fate," assured Dumbledore. "How are the other students reacting to Mr. Nott's decision?"

Draco thought this over. "Daphne and I are on his side. Tracey is a half-blood, so I'm pretty sure she loves these new developments. Zabini has always been neutral. Pansy is opportunistic. She will support whoever she benefits most from. Millicent, Crabbe and Goyle, however... They made it clear that they do not approve. And by the way some of the others looked at us today... But Slytherins are not all Death Eaters in the making, you know. Many of them fought on our side during the last battle. We are just not as open about who we support as some of the other houses are." Many might have been a bit of an overstatement. But Draco knew there had been a few Slytherins who fought against the Death Eaters in the final battle.

Dumbledore smiled. "This is good to know. Severus is talking to your housemates this very second, telling them about the importance of house unity and that any attacks against housemates will not be tolerated. If anything happens, let me know."

"Thank you, headmaster."

"The war will start and end a lot sooner than you remember, I assume. And you have given our side a lot to work with."

At that, Draco jerked up. "Uh- I almost forgot!" He started rummaging through his pockets and pulled out the cup. "I – uhm – borrowed this out of my aunt's vault." He put the cup on the desk in front of him. "Do you think that might be one of them?"

Dumbledore leaned forward, examining the cup. "Do you know what this is?" he finally asked.

"A cup?" Draco asked, confused. He hated it when Dumbledore answered questions with questions.

"Not just any cup," Dumbledore said, his eyes gleaming.

Draco took a closer look at the cup. His eyes fell on the badger. "A Hufflepuff cup? Wait- Is this a cup from Helga Hufflepuff?"

When Dumbledore nodded, Draco knew that it was indeed a Horcrux that he was looking at.

"How do we destroy it?"

Dumbledore looked at him. "I think, before I answer this, we should have a word with Harry Potter."

TBC

Thank you for all the lovely reviews :) I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well. Next update might take a while as I'll be travelling to Romania tomorrow and stay there till Saturday.

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