As he and Fred left the compartment and headed off to find Lee, laughing, George grinned and said, "Didn't realize Malfoys could be funny."

Fred snickered. "Did you see Ron's face? Not to mention Malfoy chose a compartment with a Weasley."

"Hey, us Weasleys are a joy to be around," George said, shouldering him.

But Fred wasn't exactly wrong. It was a bit weird that a Malfoy had chosen to sit with a blood traitor. Not to mention that it was that Malfoy. From what their father had mentioned of her, George had been expecting someone a bit more terrifying. Fangs, maybe. Or a sneering scowl. A hysterical, villainous laugh for good measure. Instead, she'd been polite. A bit of wit. And a mild smirk that did little to detract from the sharp look in her eye.

"Do you think it's true, then?" George asked.

Fred shrugged. "Feel free to test it, my good man."

George laughed and shoved him before throwing open the door to the compartment Lee had chosen. "Lee! We have a dare for you!"

Lee had staunchly refused to risk his life by poking Leonis Malfoy. It didn't matter what they said—"It's probably not true," Fred wheedled. "She might actually be harmless!"—because Lee was unmoving on the matter. In fact, when her name was called for the sorting and she stepped on stage, Lee shuddered. "She's scary looking."

"Is she?" George asked, squinting at her. Unlike with her brother, the Hat was taking its time. It had slipped down over her head, resting on her nose. Her lips were moving in clear conversation, which George had only seen a couple times before. Once when Fred, being sorted right before him, had tried to convince the Hat to declare him headmaster even as it roared Gryffindor. And another time only a few minutes ago when the Longbottom kid had sat and argued with the hat about who knew what. "What's scary about her?"

"I think she's a vampire," Lee announced instead of answering the question. "We should get some garlic just in case. Or wooden stakes."

"We're wizards," Fred snorted. "Our whole thing is carrying around wooden stakes. Besides, could a vampire even come to Hogwarts?"

"I don't think she's a vampire," George put in.

"She looks like the ghoul in your attic."

George made a noise of amusement before shaking his head at Lee. "She's kinda blue, isn't she? The ghoul's green."

"And loud," Fred put in.

"Five minutes," Percy announced to the table, looking up from his wristwatch. "Officially a hatstall."

"So," Fred said, leaning forward. "Slytherin?"

"She's a Malfoy," George agreed. "So yes. It has to be Ravenclaw, right? Can't imagine a Malfoy in Hufflepuff."

"Or Gryffindor."

Finally, eventually, the Hat announced, "Slytherin!"

Percy looked down quickly at his watch again. "Seven minutes and thirteen seconds. Might be a record."

"Slytherin," George said, nodding and watching the girl move to join her twin brother. "Makes sense."

Leonis Malfoy was a good seeker. George hadn't been expecting to see her on the opposing team, but he couldn't deny that she was putting him and Fred through their paces to keep her away from the snitch. It felt wrong to admit that a Slytherin was that talented, even if he was just admitting it to himself. And to Fred, because when he exchanged a look with his twin he could tell they were thinking the same thing.

Something was wrong with Harry's broom. Something was wrong with Harry's broom, and Malfoy was flying towards him with her wand out and intense concentration on her face. Fred made it to a bludger first, hitting it towards her to save Harry.

Malfoy was a skilled flyer, so it made no sense why she didn't see the bludger coming. She went down.

George looked over at Fred again, both of their eyes wide. He couldn't bring himself to feel sorry for her. Not when she was out of the game, and Harry's broom was working properly again.

It was as Leonis Malfoy left the Great Hall with her brother and Snape that George followed Fred in sliding down the table to sit across from Percy. "Friends with the enemy?" Fred asked with false cheer.

Percy frowned. "Don't let House rivalry go to your head, George."

George scoffed but didn't correct him, leaning forward and propping his chin in his hand. "She tried to kill Harry."

Percy looked unimpressed. "Don't go spreading rumors," he told them both firmly, standing and gathering his bag. "I have prefect duties to attend to."

"Of course you do," Fred sneered. "Perfect Prefect Percy. Running around with the Slytherin Banshee."

Percy's face twisted at the name students had been throwing around for Malfoy. George wasn't quite sure where it had come from, especially since he'd hardly seen her speak at anything other than a usual volume. He'd heard something about her yelling taunts at her brother during a flying class, but nothing more than that.

Percy left in a huff, and Fred leaned back with a sigh. "A hex like that on Harry's broom? It was definitely Ravenclaw. That had to have been a high level spell."

"Definitely Ravenclaw," George agreed.

The Malfoy twins returned during Tuesday night dinner. They walked into the Great Hall with a student that George didn't recognize. The unfamiliar student was speaking with Leonis, waving his hands excitedly. Her brother split off from them, heading for the Slytherin table, and the other two paused to finish talking before the student left her for the Hufflepuff table. And then Leonis Malfoy turned her attention to the Gryffindor table, and George realized that Percy was motioning to her.

"Traitor," Fred muttered. "What do you think?"

"Giggle potion in his breakfast," George suggested. And then, "Or drying charms on all of his self-inking quills."

"Both," Fred decided.

When dinner started to wrap, Fred and George scarfed down their dessert then rushed to follow Percy, hoping to snag his quills from his bag to check that prank off for the night and leave the next one until morning. But just when they almost caught up to their brother, they found themselves instead in a throng of students gathered around two first years. Two Slytherins. Leonis Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson. George only recognized her because she'd been caught in the explosive bubble charm they'd set up in one of the dungeon stairwells.

Parkinson was scowling. Malfoy looked vaguely amused and had her sleeve trapped between her teeth. Percy was standing close by her, waving his arms and demanding that the crowd break up. That nothing was happening, and everyone should be on their way.

George tried to get a better look at what was going on, but he was jostled by a older student that was one of several jeering at one or the other or both Slytherins. He only managed to catch the tail end of Parkinson snarling that Malfoy was a disgrace. Malfoy looked both bored and delighted.

"Oh, have you been talking to my grandfather? You're starting to sound like him, but I'm not sure he would ever take time for a gormless minger like yourself."

Parkinson lurched forward, wand coming up. "Furnunculus!"

Malfoy's wand was already out, and she calmly said, "Protego," A shield shimmered in front of her, absorbing the golden spell. Then she turned her wrist, sliding one foot forward. "Melo—"

Her wand and Parkinson's went flying, and McGonagall caught them. She looked furious, her own wand lowering from her Expelliarmus. "Miss Parkinson! Miss Malfoy! Duelling in the halls is forbidden. Both of you should know better." She looked between them. "Which of you is going to tell me what is going on?"

Malfoy blinked at the professor before turning and staring between two of the students to her left. Parkinson's face twisted. "Malfoy's the one running around like she owns the place," she spat.

"I am?" Malfoy asked, still looking at nothing. "I'm not," she concluded.

"Acting like you're better than us when you're consorting with blood traitors!" Parkinson stabbed a finger in Percy's direction, biting out a vulgarity.

George surged forward, and Fred was already shouting in their brother's defense. But it was Malfoy who protested loudest.

"Don't call him that!" she howled. Followed immediately by, "Entomorphis!" Her teeth clacked loudly as she snapped her jaw shut at the end of the incantation.

Parkinson shrieked, dropping to the floor and bringing both hands to her head. George watched in horrified fascination, along with everyone else, as antennae started to sprout from Parkinson's forehead and something started shifting under the back of her robes. Cries of shock came from the crowd.

"Miss Malfoy!" McGonagall cried in alarmed disapproval. She hurried forward, waving her wand and muttering something under her breath. The antennae started to retreat, and Parkinson was left shuddering and sobbing on the floor. As the professor helped the girl to her feet, she said, "This is unacceptable, the both of you. Twenty points from Slytherin. Each!"

A noise of displeasure rippled through all the Slytherins in the hall. Several of them started to argue angrily.

"Furthermore!" McGonagall continued, silencing them all with a look. "Both of you will serve detention. Mister Weasley, please escort Miss Parkinson to Madam Pomfrey just to be sure she's alright after that nasty hex." She returned Parkinson's wand to her. She then turned a sharp gaze to the other girl, her lips thin. "Come with me, Miss Malfoy." She waved a hand to part the students and started walking away.

Parkinson glowered as Percy as he tried to offer her support. She shook him off and started stalking, limbs shaking, to the stairs while he followed. Malfoy stared again at empty space before fitting the end of her hair ribbon between her lips and hurrying after McGonagall.

"Ravenclaw for sure," George said. "That was wandless."

Fred shrugged. "Doing that in front of Professor McGonagall? I know we would if we could."

George grinned. "Gryffindor seems unlikely."

"Wandless, Forge! Wandless!" Fred barked out a laugh, flinging his hands out as they started for Gryffindor Tower. "Who does that?"

"Almost no one. Maybe it's because of her . . . ." George squinted. "Friend?"

The Gryffindor Common Room was abuzz, those who hadn't witnessed the fight demanding that it get retold again and again, the details getting more warped the more times it was shared. By the time Percy returned, everyone was arguing over what was more shocking: the wandless hex or the fact that a Slytherin—a Malfoy—had cast it in defense of a Gryffindor—a Weasley.

"This is gossip," Percy announced to everyone when they converged on him. "As a prefect, I will not be participating. As good students, neither should you."

The students dispersed to continue their speculation away from him, but Fred and George pressed up to Percy's sides. "So," Fred began. "Turns out—"

"The Slytherin Banshee—"

"Has some surprises—"

"Up those chewed sleeves of hers."

"You shouldn't be calling Miss Malfoy that. She's a perfectly respectable student who has done nothing against you." Percy frowned down his nose at them.

George snorted. "She tried to kill Harry," he reminded.

"Or at least tried to jinx him off his broom," Fred allowed.

"All just to win a quidditch match."

"Or maybe something to do with ancient pureblood rites and Harry having been the one to—"

"She did no such thing," Percy said stiffly.

"Oh, did the Slytherin tell you that?" Fred asked, leaning in with a grin. "With her Slytherin lies and her Slytherin fibs and her Slytherin— George, what's another good word for lies?"

"She didn't," Percy interrupted. He'd developed a tic in his jaw that George didn't often see. "And she didn't need to. These are incredibly baseless accusations, you know. If you approach everything with this little thought, it's no wonder your grades are so low."

"That's unfair!" George protested, unable to suppress a broad smile. "Our grades are so low because we like to put our efforts into more important things."

"I can see you're a lost cause," Fred said as he turned himself and George away from their older brother. "Have fun with your banshee friend!"

"Did you get them?" George asked once they'd made distance.

Fred grinned and pulled Percy's self-inking quills from his sleeve.