CHAPTER 16

05 September 1992 - The Lair, 8:29AM

The Silver Trio watched with varying degrees of amusement as Luna Lovegood - seated next to Eurus and across from the three wizards - patiently explained the concepts of nargles, wrackspurts, and Blibbering Humdingers to a fascinated Ka. The massive cobra - usually the more reserved of the serpents - had extended quite a bit of his considerable size to wrap around the blonde witch who sat to the left of the Throne, leaving his head to rest comfortably on her right shoulder. Luna tenderly rubbed the side of Ka's head whilst her airy voice described the state of the Hydra's nargles as Harry (equal parts amused and exasperated) communicated the serpent's responses.

"It's an incredible marvel, one of the most complex I've ever seen. It's three really big spheres interconnected with each other with multiple intricate lines of nargles." Ka nodded in complete seriousness, though Nidhogg, Mara, and Rajah looked quite dubious at the prospect of mysterious creatures that they couldn't see. "Each line has its own color that's tied directly to each of you…yours Ka, is a deep blue; Rajah's emerald green, Mara's deep purple, Delilah's a sunny yellow, Jormungand's a simple white, and Nidhogg's look to be almost black in color. Megaera, Tisiphone, and Alecto's are differing shades of red. They all together look to be-" Luna paused here and tilted her head, staring unblinkingly right above the Hydra's head.

"Yes…they look to be pulsing, at least the sphere's outer rings and their numerous tendrils. They literally cover the entirety of the room, even the parts that remain hidden to us. Probably warding off any wrackspurts and fury-flies, since none can seem to get close to it or any of you. I imagine it's what keeps this place so well-hidden…the nargles leave a little bit of a haze over everything. I reckon if I hadn't been invited in, I wouldn't be able to see a thing." Harry's eyes widened at the accuracy of Luna's statement , somehow (despite knowing nothing of the Lair's mechanics) articulated the nature of its secrecy almost perfectly.

"Incredible, simply incredible," Ka responded. "Can anyone else see these beings?"

"No, just Luna at this time. But according to Eurus, the creatures - like a lot of other invisible creatures before their discovery - don't want others to see them, at least not yet."

"Precisely," Eurus replied brightly. "I've taken to cataloging all of the creatures, if you would like to have a look?" Without waiting for a response, she reached into her knapsack and pulled out her notes and drawings, showing them off to the intrigued cobra. Curious, Delilah and Megaera leaned their heads closer to take a look at Eurus' notes.

Whilst they were suitably occupied, the Silver Trio addressed more pertinent topics. "So," said Blaise, "have you decided who else you'd like to let in on the Lair? Now that we have these tokens, it should make getting in and out much easier than we thought." The tokens were in reference to the simple snake pins (a total of nine) that Lily Evans had created using the Protean Charm and some obscure Parsel-based modification of the Notice-Me-Not. Pinned on the inside of their robes, it allowed its wearer to go unnoticed once he or she passed the threshold of the entrance of Prefects' Row. Harry had already given the room's occupants pins to keep indefinitely.

"Definitely Ginny," replied Harry. "She was sensible enough to pursue Slytherin on my suggestion in spite of her family's… expectations. I imagine she'd be a worthwhile addition to my Inner Circle." Harry wiggled his eyebrows cheekily, causing his friends to snicker. In truth, Harry truly wanted Ginny as part of his Consilierii due to her familial legacy. While Cedrella Black had been a Slytherin, she was far from the only one. In addition to almost ten other Slytherin forebears spread across the Weasley family, Amadeus Weasley (Class of 1703), Clelia Weasley (Class of 1677), Quintus Weasley (Class of 1588), and Arrius Weasley (Class of 1451) had also served as Consilierii (with corresponding plaques on the Emeritus wall to demonstrate), half of whom were on Malfoy Prince Administrations. In fact, prior to the 1780s, House Weasley typically Sorted into Hufflepuff and Slytherin. Harry still wasn't sure exactly what had caused the House to become so Gryffindor-dominant, but he imagined he'd find out soon enough.

"And what about Tracey and Daphne?" asked Blaise.

"Hmm… honestly haven't decided yet," replied Harry. "We had a little… chit-chat during the birthday party, so we'll see how it goes. I'm dangling quite the carrot in Daphne's face at the moment, so I'm hoping she…bites. The prospect of becoming the Ancient and Noble House of Greengrass should hopefully be enough of a motivator for her - and Tracy - to willingly join my side." His two friends nodded in agreement whilst Jormungand (unbeknownst to them) hummed approvingly.

"Sounds good," nodded Theo. "Have you decided about Draco yet?" Nidhogg perked up.

"I'm…I'm willing to give Draco a second chance." Nidhogg's eldritch eyes narrowed. "If Theo's assessment is true about Malfoy taking the steps to actually earn his place as a Slytherin, then I'm willing to extend an olive branch." No sooner than Harry finished speaking did Nidhogg stretch the entirety of his body from its position to wrap around Harry's chair, startling the rest of the room's human occupants.

"Do you think that's wise, young Claimant?" he asked, his impossibly deep voice rumbling throughout Harry's body. Beside him, the young Potter felt Theo shudder. "He was an enemy properly culled, earning his rightful position firmly beneath your thumb. Why would you disturb that order you helped create, elevating him to your peer?" Harry took a moment to formulate his response, wanting to demonstrate the necessary care and prudence one would expect from a Prince (and not risked being squeezed to death should he say the wrong thing to the vengeful krait).

"Because, he seems to be making a concerted effort upon self-improvement. He is, seemingly, no longer content to wallow in the depths of his inflated ego. Granted, while I am not completely certain that he's disabused himself of his baseless bigotries, I am willing to give him a chance to demonstrate that he possesses the true values of Slytherin House and is willing to act in accordance with them. Then, and only then, will I offer him the chance to join my Inner Circle."

"Here here Harry!," exclaimed Eurus cheerily, notes' quill raised in a toast. "I too believe he's worthy of a second chance, especially if he's putting in the necessary work. Draco is the only son of a former Prince Emeritus, who also happens to be one of the wealthiest and most well-connected lords in Wizarding Europe." She raised her brow for emphasis. "As said Lord's only heir, I imagine Draco is already receiving proper tutelage in all of the schemes and machinations that have made Lord Malfoy so formidable. A worthwhile ally well-earned, and demonstrative of your cunning as Prince should you be able to successfully elevate him from bitter foe to loyal friend." Stunned silence met her statement for a few moments, before Jormungand, Mara, and Delilah hissed their joint approval. In typical Luna-fashion she attempted to imitate the serpents' hisses to support her friend, but with little success.

"As sound and Slytherin a point as ever, don't you agree Exemplar of Ruthlessness?" Nidhogg leveled a gimlet eye at Harry, grumbling about "young wizards and their impertinent cheek" as he unfurled his massive form to its initial position.

"Fine, have it your way then. However, if he crosses you again young Claimant…" The threat was clear.

"Then he'll be crushed. Like a bug. Under. My. Foot." The last statement was hissed with such promise of violence that it sent shivers up the spines of the Lair's occupants. Nidhogg hummed in appreciation.

"Moving on," said Theo nervously. "Besides Marcus and Missy Bulstrode, any other Prefects we should let in on the Lair? It's now between Penelope Padgett and Miranda Bonnevie, and it's un-bloody-likely we're going with the latter-"

"Go with Miranda." The bluntness of Luna's statement caused everyone to stop short.

"Umm…Lovegood," replied Blaise skeptically. "I'm not sure if you've noticed, but Bonnevie is of the 'very bigoted stereotypical Slytherin' type. She's also part of the Selwyn sect, and unless we're…I don't know… blackmailing or threatening her in some capacity that would require use of the Lair's unique secrecy abilities, she doesn't need to know about this place." Luna was unmoved, turning to stare directly at Harry.

"Do you remember what I told you about Jim? About his mask?" Harry's eyes briefly widened as he recalled her cryptically accurate statements about his older brother's Boy-Who-Lived facade. Luna nodded firmly.

"Like I told you before Harry; we all have our masks we wear, some better than others. Miranda's may not be as brittle as your brother's, but it does have several hard edges. Her wrackspurts get quite agitated; they really don't enjoy being forced to behave in a manner unnatural to their being." Her gray eyes sharpened as her gaze grew more penetrating, though she was staring directly above Harry's head. "Your masks are a perfect fit, like a soft velvety glove. So soft that your wrackspurts are always…dozing off, and your nargles don't even know they're there. We should give Miranda's a chance to doze off too, she could use a soft velvety glove." Theo and Blaise looked completely flabbergasted, but Harry and Eurus did not. The young Potter stared intently at Luna for a few moments, weighing all of his options.

"Alright," said Harry after some moments. "We'll go with Miranda."

Sometime later the five Slytherins emerged from the Lair, making their way into the Common Room. Luna and Eurus made their way over to the couch in front of the fireplace, intent on completing their homework assignments. The Silver Trio made their way over to a private alcove, but were almost immediately set upon by Miranda Bonnevie and her coterie of cronies (who'd been seemingly lounging around). Fifth Years Heather Thatcham, Muriel Rothley, and Horatio Pershore were the three that always seemed to be in Miranda's orbit, content to skulk and sneer behind her as needed. Whilst Rothley and Pershore were descended from respectable non-Sacred Twenty-Eight pureblood families, Thatcham was a Halfblood, working very hard (some would say overcompensating) to fit in and curry favor with her pureblood peers. So far, it seemed to be somewhat working.

"Potter," sneered Bonnevie. "Slinking around with the riff-raff while you do…whatever it is that you do." She stepped threateningly close to Harry, eyes narrowing dangerously. "You've been allowed to run ram shod on Slytherin House, muddying the waters and daring to act above your rightful betters."

Harry smiled with all his teeth. "My betters…which would be you, presumably?" He bared more of his teeth, internally pleased to see the older witch's eyes widen a fraction as her sneer dropped. In the blink of an eye (so fast no one else would've noticed) Harry saw that mask Luna had mentioned slip back over face.

"Yes, that's right. Me. Watch your back Harry Potter. You won't last for long." Harry's brow arched in response to the poorly veiled threat, before looking in Lovegood's direction (who was staring right above Miranda's head) for confirmation. A beat passed, before the blonde witch nodded imperceptibly.

"Alright Bonnevie. I'll watch my back." Harry paused and stepped close to the older girl, their noses almost touching. "And I'll watch yours too."

DADA Classroom - 11:00AM

Hermione Granger entered the DADA classroom to find that it was empty. Making her way over to the empty chair in front of the Professor's desk, she grimaced out a few greetings at the paintings that eagerly waved at her. Her name had been listed among the Gryffindors who would serve on Lockhart's research teams, but she was somewhat perturbed to see that next to her name the sheet simply said "TBD – see Lockhart at approximately 11:00AM on Saturday September 5." While nervous, Hermione had been mollified when she'd seen that Amy was also on the TBD list, the only Gryffindor Firstie. Also included were Harry, Ginny, Eurus Kolumbiko, and Penelope Clearwater, who were also scheduled to speak to Lockhart later in the day.

Suddenly the door to Lockhart's office banged open and the man entered with his usual flair, this time in eye-wateringly bright shades of flamingo and salmon pinks.

"Ah, Miss Granger. Thank you for joining me." Hermione nodded graciously. "Now, I suppose you're wondering why you're here. Worry not! Not only were you the highest-scoring overall DADA student below Fifth Year, you also demonstrated some specialized knowledge that I believe makes you eligible to participate in not one but two of my research projects. I asked you to come here today to determine which one you would like to join." Hermione smiled and relaxed at that as Lockhart continued. "To be quite frank, I asked you here to see if I could persuade you to participate in both of them. I know that doing so might represent a significant time investment for you, and I cannot give you extra points for participating in both projects as that would be unfair, I think, to your fellow students. Nevertheless, the two projects I have in mind might actually have some relationship to one another, and I think it might be beneficial to have someone on both teams who can look for common ground. Naturally, you would only have to submit one paper at the end of the year and would have your pick of which of the two projects you wished to write about."

Hermione's eyes widened in surprise. She was accustomed to being an overachiever but seldom had teachers willing to push her to this degree. Especially not one she, up until two days prior, had held in very little esteem. "Well, Professor Lockhart, before I decide, I'd like to know a bit more about the projects, if that's alright?"

"Certainly Miss Granger! But first, answer me this question: How did you know my favorite color was lilac?"

She blinked in surprise. "Well ... it was in one of your books."

"Yes, but where specifically?"

Mildly confused by the question, Hermione closed her eyes and tried to remember. "I believe it was Voyages with Vampires, Chapter 19. You mentioned it was your favorite color when you were complementing the gown worn by Elizabeth Bathory, the Vampire Queen of Hungary."

"Indeed. And, just between us, my favorite color is actually emerald green. I just thought it prudent to exercise some politesse in that situation lest my bloodless corpse be found floating in the Danube. Next question: How did you know when my birthday was?"

"Gadding with Ghouls, Chapter 12. The hotel concierge in Monte Carlo wished you a happy birthday."

"Ah, yes. Good old Armand. But – the actual date wasn't mentioned in that chapter, was it?"

"No, sir, but the date was mentioned in Chapter 13, the events of which took place one day later."

Lockhart laughed. "Excellent, Miss Granger, excellent. As I suspected, you have an eidetic memory or something close to it. I presume you've had a bit of Occlumency training to bolster your abilities?" Hermione hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement. "Ah! Excellent! I would like for you to consider becoming a member of Research Team Recall. Team Recall is devoted to the study of memory charms, specifically how to detect them, defend against them, and more easily recover from them. Naturally, someone with your particular gifts and discipline would be a great boon to such research."

At that, Hermione found herself mildly shocked. Like Harry, she'd thought the personal questions about Lockhart were a sign of his fathomless vanity. It had not occurred to her that the answers to those questions were buried in Lockhart's books as trivia and that only someone with an exceptional memory might have recalled them. Once more, her estimation of the Professor rose several notches.

"Thank you, sir. And the other project?"

Lockhart hesitated. "Miss Granger, before I get into that, I must ask: Do you consider Miss Luna Lovegood to be a friend? Or, if not a friend exactly, then at least someone towards whom you feel protective and or share some camaraderie?"

"Well, sir... to be honest, I haven't known Miss Lovegood for a very long time... but yes, by virtue of our shared acquaintances I would consider her a friend with whom I share camaraderie." She paused and frowned. "Does this have something to do with ... nargles, sir?"

He smiled. "Very astute, Miss Granger. Out of the entire student body, only eight students gave any meaningful response to the question about nargles and wrackspurts, five of whom gave a vague description followed by some variation on 'they're things that Luna Lovegood believes in.' Both Miss Lovegood and her friend Miss Kolumbiko provided well over three feet of parchment about the creatures, along with daily detailed drawings I made sure to make copies of, for future reference." He paused here and leveled a curious stare at Hermione. "Miss Lovegood wrote very approvingly of the 'highly orderly and disciplined' nature of your own nargles and wrackspurts which is another reason why I decided to approach you about this team."

"Professor Lockhart," Hermione began somewhat uncertainly, "are you implying that nargles and wrackspurts are ... real?"

He stared intensely for a few moments. "Honestly, Miss Granger? I don't know. That's why I asked the question." He rose from his desk and went over to a cabinet from which he withdrew what looked like a fairly old and battered Care of Magical Creatures textbook. From the cover, she saw that the title was Beasts of the Magical World, Grade 5 by Edwina Farnsby.

"After I accepted my position here at Hogwarts, I decided to dig up some old textbooks and class notes that had been put up in storage at Gringotts and re-familiarize myself with the curriculum as it was taught during my school days. It took a while to get them. As I was reviewing my old CoMC books looking for information about various creatures that might be relevant, I came across several entries on nargles, wrackspurts, and certain other types of mind-affecting creatures that apparently are completely undetectable by magical or mundane means save for a rare few wizards and witches with the innate power to see them." Hermione's eyes widened in shock. "But what was most intriguing about these entries is that I had absolutely no recollection of studying these creatures before even though there were notes written in the margin in my own hand!" Hermione's eyes remained wide.

"Intrigued by that, as I normally have an excellent memory, I began researching these creatures elsewhere but could find no references to them from any other source. Not in any of Scamander's books nor in Lima's. Not even in the Encyclopedia Magica. In a pique of desperation I wrote to Edwina Farnsby herself to ask about the creatures that she had previously written about and got a Howler in reply from the old witch telling me off for wasting her time with, and I quote "such idiotic nonsense that had no doubt rotted my brain beyond measure!" end-quote. After that, I finally tracked down a second copy of Magical Beasts of the World, Grade 5 that was published in the same year as the one from my vault, and do you know what I found?"

Hermione shook her head, trepidation crawling up her spine.

"The pages that had been devoted to nargles and wrackspurts in my copy of the book had been replaced in the other by completely different content detailing the various uses of flobberworm mucus!" Lockhart shook his head while Hermione openly gawked in disbelief. "It's a remarkable mystery, Miss Granger, one for which I can only divine two possible solutions. One is that someone somewhere is playing an incredibly elaborate practical joke on me, one which involves Luna Lovegood and, apparently, infiltrating my Gringotts vault!"

"And the other solution, Professor?" Hermione said in bafflement.

He sighed. "That wrackspurts and nargles do exist, and someone has gone to very extraordinary lengths to make the entire world forget about them," he said simply.

Hermione simply stared at her professor, flabbergasted at the idea of a conspiracy so bizarre and overreaching in its elaborateness that it made the existence of Blibbering Humdingers seem tame in comparison.

A few moments later, Hermione nodded her head in acquiescence. "Alright Professor, you've presented an… intriguing case. I'll definitely join the second team in addition to the first." Lockhart stared intently for a beat, before beaming in acquiescence.

"That's excellent to hear, ha-Ha!" Hermione cringed (internally) at the ridiculous laugh. "Both teams will reconvene later in the week, I will have schedules readily up in each Common Room. Until then!" He clapped his hands boisterously, and Hermione took that as her cue to leave. Halfway to the door, she turned back.

"Um…Professor?" Lockhart looked up from rummaging in his desk.

"Yes Ms. Granger?"

"I was curious…in Holidays with Hags, you mentioned that you'd used the Colovaria Charm to change the color of Merihima's skin…subsequently melting her to sludge. I looked it up, and sir... quite frankly there is no reference to that charm's particular application. How is that possible?" Lockhart arched a brow, before beaming at Hermione.

"I assume when you 'looked up' the charm and its applications, you did so in the Standard Book of Spells, making sure to cross-reference with other editions across all grades that mention the charm, correct?" Hermione nodded. "Excellent! As I am sure you are aware, the standard incantation for the Colovaria Charm is co-loh-VA-ree-ah, with phonetic emphasis on the third syllable." Hermione nodded slowly, not sure what his point was. "What I am certain you're not aware of, is that the Colovaria charm has a second incantation of co-loh-va-REE-ah, with emphasis on the fourth syllable as opposed to the third. That incantation can be utilized for offensive purposes, primarily forcing the skin of its target to go through multiple rapid color changes, so fast that it causes overheating." Hermione's eyes widened, not expecting that particular response.

"On human skin, it can cause severe blistering. On the skin of non-human beings - which hags are considered to be - it can cause skin to become so overheated that it practically liquifies and falls off the body. Use of that particular incantation is banned in Western Europe since the advent of the previous Blood War, as it was a personal favorite of the Left Hand of Grindelwald Gustav Kleinwuchs, as part of his…experimentations within his death camps. Upon discovery of that tidbit, Miranda Goshawk ensured that any references to offensive incantation were removed from all editions of all circulations of her work. As of now, the only publications that contain reference to that particular iteration of the Colovaria Charm are very limited edition copies of Die Zauberbuch, only found in certain circles domiciled in countries of the Balkan Alliance. In fact, if you are further inclined to seek additional confirmation, you should discreetly ask Professor Flitwick, who possesses a copy granted to him as part of winning the 1967 European World Dueling Championship hosted, I believe, in Sofia."

Hermione stared unblinkingly at the still-beaming Professor for a few more moments, before giving her thanks and taking her leave. The only thought running through her head was why a man as obviously intelligent and magically capable as Gilderoy Lockhart was pretending to be a pompously foppish fraud. 'I'll figure you out one way or another.'

Quidditch Pitch - 1:07PM

Harry stared straight ahead whilst casually leaning against his Nimbus 2000, utilizing his bifurcated thoughtstream to focus on the pitch and nod when appropriate at Cassius Warrington's ceaseless nattering. For the thousandth time, Harry was pleased to have learned that particular skill over the remainder of his summer, working with Severus for almost two weeks to successfully do so.

In a decidedly odd turn of events, Harry (along with Theo and Blaise) had found themselves joined by Cassius and his two Third Year cronies Lucian Bole and Peregrine Derrick during their lunch. It had been bizarre at best, since Cassius was very much of the 'bigoted stereotypical Slytherin' variety (and a member of the Selwyn sect), and typically would have nothing to do with a Halfblood or his 'blood-traitor' friends. Harry, curious about Warrington's true intentions, had done his best to engage in somewhat…polite conversation, drawing on the boy's obsession with Quidditch to guide the flow of discourse.

Not only was Cassius a true fanatic of the sport (on par with Sirius' obsession), he was quite knowledgeable about the intricacies of the game. Understandable, considering his father Lord Warrington was the owner of the Montrose Magpies, the third most successful Euro League team (behind Puddlemere United and the Ballycastle Bats), having won the Quidditch League Cup twenty-two times and the European Cup twice. Unsurprisingly, Cassius treated the success and abilities of his father's team as somehow demonstrative of his own skill. In fact, Warrington had spent a considerable amount of time during lunch loudly gloating (within perfect vicinity of Draco Malfoy) about the personal tutelage he'd received from Alasdair Maddock, the Magpies star Chaser. To Harry's pleasant surprise, Malfoy had soundly ignored Warrington, content to enjoy his grilled cheese whilst chatting amicably with Graham Montague.

Soon, Marcus Flint and the returning team members soon arrived on the Pitch, forcing Warrington to finally (and thankfully) go quiet. Of the returning team, Marcus Flint and Adrian Pucey as Chasers, Peregrine Derrick and Lucian Bole as Beaters, and Miles Bletchley as Keeper. Graham Montague, the other Chaser from the year before, was a returning Third Year, but he'd quietly let Marcus know over the Summer that he'd only play again if no one who tried out was any good. The boy cited some pressing 'familial obligations' that made it prudent to focus on his studies rather than squander it on Quidditch. Marcus, who was likewise feeling the pressure of his own upcoming NEWTs, was in no position to complain. Consequently, there were two open spots on the Slytherin team: Chaser and Seeker. Harry, Draco, and Cassius were trying out for both positions, though Cassius was strongly angling for the first. A few other Snakes would be trying out, but those three were clearly the ones to beat.

As Marcus explained how the tryouts for the open positions would work, Harry noticed that Bletchley was giving him an ugly look. Finally, at the end of his speech, Marcus asked if there were any questions, and he was surprised when his veteran Third Year Keeper raised his hand.

"Yeah, Bletchley?"

"When you're picking the newbies, will you take things like House loyalty into account?"

Marcus gave him an angry glare. "What the hell is that supposed to mean, Bletchley?"

"It means, Captain, that I don't know if I'm happy being on a team with someone who thinks I'm 'a bigoted lackey of a failed Dark Lord,'" replied the Pureblood as he angrily glanced over at Harry. From the corner of his eye, Potter noticed Warrington give him a sharp look.

Harry yawned in apparent boredom. "If you're referring to me with that crack, Bletchley, then I must say I'm surprised. I wasn't aware that your family had ever even followed the Dark Lord. Am I to assume they are Marked as well?" Everyone flinched as silence reigned.

"You shouldn't make such accusations Potter," said Warrington in a dangerous voice.

Harry looked back at him levelly, internally pleased to see the cheap façade drop. "Why not, Warrington? I'm not afraid of dead men. And anyway, I can't imagine why such an 'accusation' offends anyone here. After all," he stared intently into Warrington's eyes, "it's not as though any of our parents willingly bent the knee and serviced the man? Right?"

Cassius scowled viciously, both at the insult and the innuendo. Like everyone in the Family, he'd been raised to be a true believer in the Dark Lord's Pureblood philosophy, and a believer he was. He'd also been raised to believe that one day the Dark Lord would return and the Purebloods would be granted their rightful place above the mudbloods and blood traitors that tainted their word. However, Cassius also knew that denying such beliefs was the only thing that had kept his father out of Azkaban, a fact that left him unable to respond to Harry's comments.

"Enough," said Marcus sharply. "I don't give a damn about what anyone's parents did, whether twelve years ago or earlier this morning. I want the best damned team I can get because I want to go out with another Quidditch Cup under my belt. If you want to refight the last war, do it somewhere else! Got it?!"

Everyone jumped at his loud voice and responded 'Yes Captain!' in agreement. At his command, they took to the air for the tryouts. By the end of the first hour, it was clear to everyone that, blood traitor or no, Harry Potter was an exceptionally talented Quidditch player. And, that Draco Malfoy was his close second. They'd tied for four out of seven practice drills during the first hour, shocking and impressing quite a fair few members of Slytherin's returning team. By the end of the second hour however, Harry had succeeded in clearly demonstrating his more superior ability, visibly frustrating both Draco and Warrington (though Draco was more dignified in his anger). In fact, Cassius' face had grown increasingly red when bested in almost every Chaser and Seeker drill ran, and at this point, was fit to explode in his mounting rage.

Once the last Seeker drill was completed in the second hour, it seemed almost certain that Harry would make the team, and it was now a contest between the two of them for whichever spot Harry didn't want. Of the two, Draco was a much stronger Seeker, but Warrington edged him slightly as a Chaser. Calling a quick time-out, Marcus pulled Harry aside.

"Alright, Potter. Time for you to decide. You've got your pick of Seeker or Chaser."

Harry nodded. Humility was not a prized attribute among Slytherins, and he didn't waste Flint's time by pretending that he wasn't the best candidate for either of the two slots. "Who do you see taking the other slot?"

Flint exhaled. "Malfoy's a much better Seeker than Warrington is a Chaser. Executes the drills much better, and I have to say, is much more disciplined than Warrington. Bloody idiot is close to blowing his gasket, fumbled quite a bit in the last three drills because of it." Harry snorted at the irritated look on Marcus' face, causing the older wizard to laugh. "Gotta say though, I'm a bit worried about the possible complications of Malfoy on the team."

"How so?" asked Harry.

The other boy looked around to make certain they were not being observed. "I'm not supposed to tell anyone until after I've announced the new team members, but Lucius Malfoy donated a set of new brooms to the team in his capacity as the Slytherin House Alumnus sponsor on the Board of Governors. Nimbus 2001s."

Harry whistled. "Conditional on his son making the team?"

"That's just it. He made it very clear that it was not conditional on Draco making the team. He said he'd be pleased if Draco made it on, but only if I was 100% sure he was the absolute best person for the spot. In fact, he said he'd rather Draco not make the team at all rather than make it and… I dunno, embarrass himself and the Malfoy name by making it obvious he wasn't qualified in the first place. Bloody strange that." Marcus thought for a minute. "Oh, and he also said not to tell anybody any of that, so don't go blabbing."

Harry replied that he most certainly wouldn't blab to anyone while he processed the new information, turning to look at Draco who was standing across the field with Warrington and Bletchley, seemingly examining his broom. 'Very interesting. If Draco actually does make the team on merit, everyone else will just assume it was due to his father's gift, making everyone still think he's a pompous daddy's boy, even though he's making efforts to show that he's not,' he thought to himself. 'What is your end-game Lord Malfoy?'

"Well, it all comes down to you Potter. Which position do you want?"

Harry turned back to Flint with a thoughtful expression on his face, before smiling impishly.

AN 1: The Hydra's nargle structure I was attempting to describe is a 3-sphere (colloquially called an 'oversphere'), or the higher-dimensional representation of a sphere in 4D Euclidean space. I wanted to demonstrate the complexity of the Hydra's magical sentience, though I'm not certain I did a good job.

AN 2: Excited to see if Miranda meets Luna's obvious vote of confidence :)