Chapter Nine

The evening after, Professor Snape strode into Headmaster Dumbledore's office, cloak billowing behind him.

"Albus", the cloaked man began, "we need to discuss Simpson."

"Bartholomew Simpson?" the older wizard questioned as he swirled around to face Professor Snape, having previously been in a state of deep contemplation. "I hope he hasn't been causing too much trouble?"

"Regrettably Albus, he has been even more arrogant and troublesome than Harry Potter", Snape snarled. "He has a smarter mouth than Potter and I strongly suspect that he was behind an incident in Potions, wherein Draco Malfoy and I suffered an outbreak of boils."

The headmaster chortled lightly at this, but then admitted, "His name is legend among the wizarding teaching community for a reason, Severus. Is that all you wanted to discuss? Minerva and Quirinus have expressed similar concerns about his behaviour, but in my opinion the young man has done nothing to deserve any punishment beyond a detention."

The black-clad man scowled at the mention of Professor Quirrell, but added, "No. I have reason to believe that one of my house's prefects, Gemma Farley, has been manipulating him for her own ends."

At this, the wizened wizard's eyebrows shot up into the stratosphere as he asked, "Why do you believe that to be the case, Severus?"

"I have seen Farley and Simpson sitting together during feasts in the Great Hall. She has even shared chocolate with the boy. When was the last time a Slytherin prefect and a first-year sat together? Slytherins care about image and reputation, and she would have tarnished hers by associating so obviously with a first-year, particularly a Muggleborn first year.

In addition, Simpson appears to know that I'm a Legilimens. He has been assiduously avoiding eye contact with me since we met, plus he blocked a Legilimency attack from me using the most disturbing image I hope to never see again."

The aged mage chortled. "Severus, do you mean to tell me that a first-year Muggleborn blocked your Legilimency attack?"

"Albus, I did not want to spend any more time in a mind so twisted that it could conjure such an image!" the professor responded, scowling his life away.

"No doubt, Severus", the headmaster replied indulgently. "Now please continue."

"Well, I think that we would both agree that a Muggleborn first-year should have no idea that Legilimency even exists, much less block an attack by a Legilimens.

My theory is that Miss Farley informed Simpson that we are Legilimens, and that she has been teaching him various spells. In return, I expect that she will have Simpson help carry out her dirty work, including disposing of or subjugating threats to her family", Professor Snape finished, having previously scowled at Headmaster Dumbledore chuckling at the manner in which Bart had repelled the cloaked professor's Legilimens attack.

However, the ageing headmaster was most certainly not laughing after Professor Snape finished outlining his concerns. Instead, he pondered the younger wizard's words thoughtfully, and with some concern.

In Headmaster Dumbledore's judgement, Bart was the most gifted wizard to enrol into Hogwarts since Tom Riddle himself. Unfortunately, he appeared to be almost as troubled as Riddle was. He not only apparently had no friends in his home town, but his behavioural record was terrible, he had been persecuted by his fellow townspeople, and he had a father who impressed Professor Dumbledore as being clueless at best. He also had Riddle's penchant for manipulation.

Allowing somebody with Bart's history and psychological makeup to be manipulated by a third party for potentially dubious ends would not only damage the headmaster's interests, but would also potentially seriously destabilise wizarding Britain, if not the entire wizarding world. A man in Professor Dumbledore's esteemed position could not let that happen.

Speaking of dubious ends, he had never been entirely sure where the Farley family stood in terms of allegiances. To be sure, there was no evidence that they were blood supremacists, and they had assisted the headmaster's Order of the Phoenix during the last war. Additionally, it was never definitively proven that they had aided Voldemort, hence why they had never been prosecuted despite Amelia Bones, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, pushing for their prosecution.

On the other hand, he had known Jake and Bella Farley when they were in Hogwarts. Both were Slytherins and indeed, they were not unlike a previous Slytherin Head of House, Horace Slughorn, in that both were driven and ambitious individuals who were willing to go to great lengths to further their station. They not only exchanged favours with teachers and fellow students, but also manipulated and schmoozed them into giving the couple favourable treatment relative to other students, alongside introducing them to important people within wizarding Britain so they could try to advance their ambitions.

It would therefore not have surprised the geriatric wizard if the Farleys had indeed exchanged favours with Voldemort during the last war; in exchange for remaining neutral, they would need to have provided the snake-faced sorcerer with something valuable. What that something might have been, Dumbledore was unsure of. Maybe, perchance, information on the Order of the Phoenix? Perhaps even potions ingredients from their apothecary? Upon pondering this, he resolved to keep a closer watch on the misbehaving male mage, lest he be manipulated into serving Voldemort's interests.

"Severus, please keep an eye on young Bart and Miss Farley. If they engage in behaviour that you consider to be out of the ordinary for whatever reason, please let me know. I will summon Bart to my office to try and determine the exact nature of his relationship with Miss Farley. If I consider this relationship to not be in his or our best interests, I will attempt to persuade him to form alternative alliances", the headmaster advised.

Upon hearing this, the Potions Master gave the wizened sorcerer a curt nod before turning on his heel and striding out of the office.

At that very moment, in a case of synchronicity, Bart and Gemma were in that duelling arena, practising third-year defence spells. Bart had finished mastering the Glacius and Orbis jinxes both verbally and non-verbally, but he noticed that the third-year spells were somewhat trickier for him to master than the first and second-year spells. Indeed, he still hadn't quite mastered the Ventus and Relashio jinxes.

It was then that he understood why Gemma would not allow him to learn spells from that tome titled Buddhist Combat Magic – the spells in that book were potentially so advanced that even a magical prodigy like Bart may not have been able to cast them in time for his imminent duel with Draco, much less master them. Nonetheless, Bart thought that he owed himself to try and do so after the duel. After all, what was he if not a risk taker?

With that thought on his mind, he asked Gemma, "Gemma, how long did it take for you to master the spells in those old, ancient books?"

Gemma gave him a weary look and replied, "Bart, I'm not V-Voldemort. I'm not even you. I might be one of the best witches in the school, but I took days to master third-year spells where you've taken hours. How many of those spells do you think I've been able to fully master, with all of the other things I've had to do and study over the years?"

Bart took her point, but for some reason this increased his drive to learn the spells within the book. In his mind's eye, he pictured himself duelling Lisa and yelling "Now embrace the power of da Buddha!" before firing a Buddha-shaped curse towards her. He thought that the 'ironing' of doing that to a committed Buddhist would be delicious.

With that happy thought in mind, Bart happily concluded his session with Gemma and ventured down to the dungeons for yet another hay-hitting session.

Just as time tends to speed up when you're dreading the coming of a future event, time slows down inexorably when you're awaiting an event with arms wide open. Such was the case for Bart. He spent much of his Saturday lazing on his bed and revising the shield charms that he had been refining with Gemma, but he had also endured a session with Daphne and Tracey, who taught him another spell, Tarantallegra.

Bart remembered how bemused he was upon hearing the spell name, as he asked Daphne and Tracey, "Why can't these wizards come up with simpler names for these spells? Are they trying to make them harder to learn? Or do they just want their spells to sound as fancy as possible? Why can't you just say Dancing Spell? I mean, that'd be so much easier to remember. Plus, it's actually in English."

Daphne looked at Bart and deadpanned, "Because this spell wasn't invented by an English speaker, Bart", as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"But why couldn't an English speaker invent a spell called 'Dancing Spell' and have it do the same thing?" Bart querulously asked.

Daphne groaned in exasperation and replied, "Bart, wizards can't just flick their fingers and invent spells whenever they feel like it. To use the spell properly, never mind teach it to others, you have to both invent and refine the spell. You not only have to figure out how to pronounce the spell, but you also have to move your wand correctly when casting it. It's much easier to just use an existing spell rather than invent one, especially with a curse that is easy to learn, like Tarantallegra."

"Gee, you want to explain that in English, Daphne?" Bart sarcastically remarked, which prompted both Tracey and her to chase Bart out of the classroom, firing spells all the while.

Soon enough, Bart was able to put that session out of mind, as the big day, Sunday, had finally arrived. At 11:30am, Bart and Gemma trooped down to the Slytherin Duelling Dungeon. On the way, Gemma tried to encourage Bart.

"So Bart, are you ready to humiliate Draco?" Gemma asked with a smirk.

"Gemma, with what you've taught me, I feel like I could take on a werewolf and win", Bart cockily responded. After hearing that, Gemma shot him a sharp look.

"Don't get cocky, Bart. Draco might be an arrogant little toerag, but he's still his father's son. Trust me, the Malfoys wouldn't know what fair play was if it crawled up their buttocks and died. He probably knows that he can't beat you in a fair fight, so he'll almost certainly resort to dirty tricks to even things up", she admonished.

"Gemma, to be Bartesque is to be devious and underhanded – and I'm Bartesque to the bone, baby", Bart responded with a smug, sleazy smirk. "A spoilt little bitch like Dragon-poo can't beat me in the department."

Gemma simply rolled her eyes at Bart's remarks as they reached the Duelling Dungeon. It was then that Bart surveyed the magnificent yet chilling sight in front of him – the duelling area seemed to comprise two massive stone snakes, with the duel apparently designed to be contested on top of said snakes.

The eerie atmosphere was heightened by the crowd of Slytherins surrounding the edge of the area. Within the crowd, he saw Daphne and Tracey, who both gave him a small smile in support, having apparently forgiven Bart for his comments the previous day. Upon reaching the edge of the arena, Gemma patted him on the back and whispered, "Good luck, Bart", before taking her position in front of the crowd. Bart winked at her before turning his thoughts to the arena.

Man, I love Slytherin house, Bart thought. It's full of cool, creepy stuff like this. Speaking of creepy sights…, he thought as his blond housemate and rival arrogantly strode up to the other end of the platform, with his two goons and 'bob-girl' beside him. At this point, some members of the crowd started cheering. Not wanting Draco to bathe in the attention, Bart decided to needle him a tad.

"Hey Die-now, I know that you're a crappier wizard than I am, but we've already agreed that we're not allowed seconds, let alone thirds or fourths", Bart sarcastically noted.

"They're here for moral support. Because I have actual friends, I can call on their moral support. You don't have any real friends, so you can't", Draco sniped.

"Geez, how much did you pay to have 'actual friends'? Must have been half of what your family has", Bart snarked. Sighting the scowl on Draco's face, Bart went in for the kill by finishing with, "Hopefully your bought-and-paid-for friends can cheer you up after I kick your butt. I mean, you're such a miserable little bitch that it'll be really hard for them, but hopefully they're up to it."

"We'll see about that, Mudblood scum!" Draco hissed furiously.

Bart smirked. He had hoped to throw Draco off-balance through some judicious use of trash talk, and he had apparently succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. Maybe he could now lure Draco into a trap…

"Hey Dra-clod, I'll make you a deal. I'll give you three tries to hit me with everything you've got. If you fail to win, then I'll hit you with everything I have. You won't stand a chance", Bart challenged.

The crowd, including Gemma, widened their eyes and gasped at Bart's cockiness. For his part, Draco smirked, thinking that he had free reign to defeat Bart before he got going.

"Ok Simpson. I'll only need the one try though", Draco sneered.

Bart, you'd bloody well better know what you are doing, Gemma irritably thought.

It was at this time, on the stroke of midday, that Professor Snape entered the centre of the ring and glared at Bart before ordering, "Combatants, raise your wands!"

When Bart and Draco did so, the head of house stated, "You may begin!"

Draco hollered, "Locomotor Mortis!" shooting a familiar-looking purple curse in Bart's direction. Rolling his eyes contemptuously, Bart simply muttered, "Protego!" which sent the curse speeding back in Draco's direction so quickly that he barely had time to dodge.

At this, Draco's supporters went silent while some in the crowd, including Gemma, sniggered. It was becoming clear to even the most prejudiced Slytherins that Bart was a far more talented wizard than the complacent, conceited Draco.

Bart decided to press home his advantage by taunting Draco. "Gee Mal-content, wouldn't shooting a spell I hadn't seen before have been a better idea?"

Infuriated by Bart's cockiness, a red-faced Draco scrambled onto his feet and shouted, "Everte Statum!"

That's one I haven't seen before, Bart dryly thought, but nevertheless deftly dodged it, like he had so many punches and hexes over the years.

"Ok Dark-ho. That's two strikes. I'll give you one more; then it'll be strike three. Game o - "

Draco interrupted Bart's monologue by yelling, "Serpensortia!" and launching a large snake in Bart's direction.

Most wizards would have been scared shitless of a snake, but not Bart, who not only had prior experience dealing with snakes, but unbeknownst to Draco, was incredibly adept at banishing things towards his enemies.

Proving this point in front of the entire crowd, he quickly banished the snake towards Draco, who panicked and yelled, "Vipera evanesca!"

Draco had successfully vanished the snake, but fell on his knees in exhaustion. As he did so, he peered up, only to see Bart smirking.

Frankly, Draco had never felt so bereft of hope in his life. It had become obvious that Bart was just toying with him, waiting for Draco to wear himself down before he applied the finishing touches. As much as it killed him to admit it, he had to concede that this particular Muggleborn was simply too skilled a wizard for Draco to handle.

However, maybe he could knock Bart down with a surprise fourth curse before he finally collapsed. He smirked to himself as he thought, Yes, I'll surprise the wretched Mudblood with another curse. He won't be expecting me to throw a fourth curse at him. I can finish him before he finishes me.

Unfortunately, he was dealing with the Duke of Deviousness himself, Bart Simpson. Realising what he was planning, Bart quickly disarmed Draco and yelled in quick unison, just to add to the theatre of the occasion, "Petrificus Totalus! Glacius! Flipendo!" simultaneously paralysing, freezing and knocking Draco out of the arena.

"Well that was boring. Professor Snape, I think Draco just forfeited", Bart deadpanned as his head of house ran to Draco, after which Bart left the ring. Upon doing so, he extravagantly bowed to the crowd, after which he gauged their reactions. Gemma, Tracey and Daphne smiled, Theo, Millicent and Rachel nodded, and Zabini smirked, but most of the rest were struck by silence, whereas a few seemed outright aggrieved by Bart's victory.

Gemma then turned to the crowd and ordered, "Come on! Everybody out!" before having Bart stand aside as the crowd shuffled out. They still might not have liked Bart, but they could no longer disrespect his ability. For Bart, that was enough for the time being.

Finally, Professor Snape and Draco made to leave the chamber. Draco apparently couldn't even bring himself to make eye contact with Bart. Bart smirked at this, thinking, well, the little S.O.B should be off my back for a little bit.

Conversely, the professor made sure to look at Bart and Gemma before stating, "Miss Farley, please take Malfoy and follow the rest of the students to ensure order", to which she reluctantly complied. After they were gone, the cloaked man then turned to Bart and with characteristic contempt stated, "Simpson, Professor Dumbledore wants you to see him in his office, located in the Headmaster's Tower. The password to enter is 'Sherbet Lemon'. Do not delay." He then swept from the dungeon, leaving Bart alone with his thoughts.

Bart's head was spinning as he proceeded to the headmaster's office. Despite trusting Gemma more than anybody else in the wizarding world, he still had trouble reconciling the kindly headmaster that he had encountered with the Machiavellian megalomaniac of Gemma's description.

What if Gemma's right, though? What should I do? Bart frantically thought as he wondered what Headmaster Dumbledore wished to discuss with him. Was it his ongoing feud with his head of house? His behaviour towards teachers? Or maybe his relationship with other students?

Ok Bart, here's the plan. I'll just say as little as possible and avoid making eye contact. If I have to, I'll pull a Ralph. That should end the meeting pretty quickly, Bart thought as he smirked, picturing the reaction on the headmaster's face when he started spouting random non sequiturs.

"Sherbet Lemon", he uttered in front of the Headmaster's office door. The door opened and he gambolled on in.

Sure enough, Headmaster Dumbledore greeted him with a small smile and his trademark twinkling of the eyes. His eyes always do that, Bart thought in vexation.

"Ah, young Bart. I'm most glad to have the pleasure of your company on this fine day", Dumbledore affably greeted. "Would you like a Lemon Drop?", the kindly headmaster offered.

I'd better not take it; if Gemma's right about him, he's probably drugged it, Bart thought. "No, thank you, Headmaster Dumbledore", Bart unctuously replied.

"Please feel free to reconsider. Now, please take a seat. I would simply like to ask you a few questions." After Bart sat, the Headmaster began, "Now, how are you finding Hogwarts?"

"Well, I'm finding it to be a castle", replied Bart as he nonchalantly reeled off a technically correct but utterly useless 'Mathematician's Answer'.

"No doubt, Bart. That is because it is indeed a castle", the headmaster replied with typical indulgence. "However, with respect, that is not what I meant. Are you, for example, making friends within your house?"

"Yes, I am making friends within my house", Bart replied in an apathetic monotone.

With a sigh, Dumbledore thought, well, it looks like he won't volunteer information about his friendships freely. I may have to prompt him a little.

"Do these friends include Miss Gemma Farley?"

Oh crap. I'll have to try and stall him. "Whatever gave you that idea?" Bart innocently asked.

"Well, it's not escaped my notice that you two have sat together during meals in the Great Hall."

Bart scowled when he heard this. So, Gemma was right. He has been spying on me, he thought as he stared at the headmaster's desk for an indeterminate period of time. Eventually, Headmaster Dumbledore broke the silence.

"I see that you're quite taken by my desk, Bart."

"Oh yes, I am", Bart lied. "You see, I'm absolutely fascinated by wood, and this particular desk seems to be made out of mahogany."

"Actually Bart, it's made out of rosewood", the headmaster corrected.

Oh crap. "Yes, yes, that's what I meant to say. Rosewood, yes", Bart stumbled.

"Yes, I have no doubt that you simply made an honest mistake", the professor indulgently reassured the boy. "So…what has your friendship with Miss Farley been like?"

"Oh, we've just been doing things that friends do", Bart vaguely responded.

"Such as?"

"Oh you know, talking to each other."

"About what?"

"Stuff."

Upon hearing this, the wizened Headmaster sighed. Clearly Bart is not going to be forthcoming, he thought as he pondered what to do. Bart clearly knew that he was a Legilimens and so probing his mind via direct eye contact was out of the question.

Dumbledore being Dumbledore, he of course did not need to make eye contact to probe into Bart's mind, but the boy clearly developed at least a rudimentary understanding of Occlumency, so he did not know exactly how much he could extract from him using Legilimency. That, and Legilimency in his opinion was less effective when you could not make direct eye contact with the target - hence why he had asked to do so when exploring Bart's mind at Ollivander's. Plus, if Bart detected any incoming Legilimency attack that was made without his knowledge, it would destroy his trust in the old wizard. Not to mention that a powerful Legilimency attack, which he had never used on Bart, can literally drive even adults insane – he shuddered at the thought of what one might do to a child.

Upon some reflection, the headmaster decided that he would perform a Legilimency attack, but that it would be as subtle as possible. He may not have been able to extract that many memories that way, but Bart would be less likely to detect it, plus the ageing mage would at least develop some idea as to what his relationship with Miss Farley was like.

Forgive me, young Bart, he thought as he wandlessly conducted the attack.

As he expected, he only saw brief flashes, but what he saw was of great interest. Gemma and Bart sitting together on the train. Gemma inviting Bart to sit with her at the opening feast. Gemma sitting next to Bart in the hospital wing. Gemma and Bart in the Hogwarts kitchens. Gemma pointing her wand at Bart. Gemma teaching Bart spells.

Very interesting. They clearly enjoy a close relationship. Severus and I will need to discuss this before I can determine whether or not this relationship is in Bart's or our best interests, Dumbledore thought. Not wanting to probe any further and risk either damaging Bart's mind or being discovered, Dumbledore finished by replying, "Very well, Bart. Thank you for attending this meeting. You may go."

"W-what, really?" Bart spluttered, taken aback.

"Yes, Bart", Headmaster Dumbledore pleasantly responded.

Shrugging his shoulders, Bart got up and looked at the bird resting near Dumbledore for the first time.

"He's a phoenix, Bart. He is related to the thunderbird. His name is Fawkes. You might recall that your wand has a phoenix feather core, albeit not from Fawkes", Professor Dumbledore explained.

Bart nodded at this before turning tail and leaving, with the ageing mage watching him with his customary twinkling of the eyes.

Some hours later, Bart recounted the whole meeting to Gemma in an abandoned classroom. Gemma was initially angry that Professor Snape had deliberately led her out of the dungeon before informing Bart of the meeting, but as Bart explained what happened her expression became amused. However, amusement progressed to concern.

"He just ended the meeting? He didn't try to pump you for further information?" Gemma perplexedly asked.

After Bart shook his head, Gemma continued.

"Are you sure you didn't make eye contact, even for a second?"

"Yes."

"Did you detect any sensation going on in your head, like when I entered your mind?"

Bart shook his head. Come to think of it, he didn't feel any when Professors Dumbledore and Snape had done so prior to today, either – and both had definitely tried to read his mind at some stage.

Hmmm…Gemma said she wasn't very good at this sort of thing. Maybe Dumbledore or Snape can enter someone's mind without causing any pain because they're better at doing it than Gemma is, Bart shrewdly thought.

"You know Gemma, he might have entered my mind without me knowing. I mean, he's probably better at this sort of thing than you are, so it wouldn't surprise me. I don't know how much information he would have gotten out of me, though", Bart admitted.

"Not as much as if he made direct eye contact, I don't think. I was never able to extract anything out of my father without making eye contact.

He'll probably call you in for further meetings, so keep on doing what you did if he does. Don't give him straight answers and do not make eye contact", Gemma advised.

"Yes'm", Bart replied as they walked to the Slytherin common room.

Author's Notes for Chapter Nine:

Whether Legilimency is more effective with eye contact, or just simply easier to perform, is a matter of interpretation, so I've made out both to be the case.