beyondwandpoint

“11 12z Wednesday - (Dis)Loyalty” Part 1.1 The Boys

The Snakes renegotiate their positions in the aftermath of the Head's bonding and Harper's beating.

Slytherins: Draco Malfoy, Theo Nott, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, Harper Hutchinson, Aaron Avery, Sheldon Shafiq, Torsten Touchstone, Bartholomew Burke, Akira Murakami, Jay Petrel, Hunter Hutchinson

Mentioned briefly: Severus, Hermione, Slytherins: Blaise Zabini, Daphne Greengrass, Tracey Davis, Millicent Bulstrode, Alberta Runcorn, Ella Wilkins, Wilfred Wilkes, Others: Crankshaft, Shawshank, Slinky

Originally Published: 2019-09-30 on LJ / DW this chapter has been pre-dated
Chapter: 113 part 1.1

The original version of this chapter exceeded livejournal's maximum post length. It's been split in two parts.

STOP! I'm shuffling the order of the last four (or five 😉) chapters around. Have you read 112a ( LJ / DW ), the chapter where Vince goes to get his revenge on Harper? If not, go there first, my lovelies!

Also, this chapter (113a, uploaded 30 September) went over the character limit and had to be split into a two-parter, so make sure you start by reading this one.

❤️ Ginger 😊

Characters:

Slytherins: Draco 7S (Prefect, Team Captain, Seeker, Swot), Theo Nott 7S (Swottiest, Nervous Wreck), Vincent 'Vince' Crabbe 7S (Beater, Inferi Princess), Gregory Goyle 7S (Beater)

Harper Hutchinson 6S (Prefect, Chaser, flash Robe Model), Aaron Avery 6S (Reserve Chaser), Sheldon Shafiq 6S (Reserve Beater, charm on legs), Torsten 'Tor' Touchstone 6S (sleepyhead, heir to the Touchstone fortune)

Bartholomew 'Bart' Burke 5S (sallow), Akira Murakami 5S (Prefect), Jay Petrel 5S

Hunter Hutchinson 4S (Imp, one third of the Trio of Terror)

Mentioned briefly: Severus (HoS, Potions), Hermione 7G (Prefect, Supreme Swot), Slytherins: Blaise Zabini 7S (Keeper (but only in the Quidditch sense...)), Daphne Greengrass 7S (Sparkly! Fwoopers!), Tracey Davis 7S (Swottier), Millicent 'Millie' Bulstrode (Reserve Beater, yes, that.), Alberta Runcorn 7S (Grumpy.), Ella Wilkins 6S (Prefect with the Healing Charm), Wilfred Wilkes 4S (Messenger Boy), Others: Crankshaft (Harper's half-Kneazle), Shawshank (the Shafiqs' half-Kneazle), Slinky (the Slytherin House's chief house elf)

A/N: I'll eventually be shifting this chapter back before 113b. Also, the Previouslies are now clicky!

Previously on 'Days and Nights of Our Young Snakes'...

Tuesday evening. Having heard from the Poste Serpentes that the seventh years are somehow responsible for their Head of House being forced to bond Hermione (065 LJ / DW), the other Snakes decide they'll need to meet to try to determine a course of action. The girls agree to put a stop to all... relations with the seventh year boys, to render them as miserable as sensibly (or magically) possible while about it, and to at least make an effort to see that the Head isn't required to act on his Protection Vow. (083a LJ / DW)

Sharon Shafiq, upset over an insult to her brother (Tracey deems the sixth year boys universally poor prospects as sexual partners), raises her voice in his defence in one of the girls' rooms causing it to echo through their dorms. (083a LJ / DW) (The questionable logic for this supposed safety feature is discussed along with other innovations of Salazar Slytherin's in 091b ( LJ / DW ))

The remaining Slytherin boys also try to reach a consensus. It isn't easy, but then the situation isn't improved any when they hex and jinx each other rather ostentatiously. In the course of their meeting, Bartholomew Burke makes a quip to one of his friends about not wishing to disturb Severus on his honeymoon, and Harper takes him to task for being disrespectful. Things finally culminate in Aaron soaking Sheldon's bed, and Sheldon's Fairy Wing Charm rebounding, and they finish the meeting to the sound of his flapping wings. Ultimately they decide they can't risk anything more overt than refraining from slagging off the bondmate, although that's something, but they'll do their best to see the Head vindicated. Unless it interferes with Quidditch that is. That ends with them hexing Vince something silly late that night. (083b LJ / DW)

The spectacle of a purple-winged, green-haired, black-nailed Vince flapping away (with both ears and wings) with his mouth sewn shut that greets the House Wednesday morning is a sight no one who sees it is soon likely to forget... And to make sure they don't, Harper (struggling to help fill the Hutchinson family's exceedingly empty war chest) takes a number of snaps of Vince he plans to sell to his Housemates. (091b LJ / DW) Not so unpredictably, Vince takes issue with this scheme and means to have it out with the younger entrepreneur. Harper expects that to go about as well as the beatdown he took for last year's infamous 'Terrycloth Flobberworm' pictures he managed to get of Vince. (065 LJ / DW) In the hope of lessening the... impact of the encounter, Harper has been practising a weak Protego (102a LJ / DW), and Tracey slipped him some Pain-Relief to be on the safe side. (111 LJ / DW)

Some Hufflepuffs (Rivers and Hopkins) insult Hermione and Draco demands satisfaction - not that he receives it, of course - and then he promptly tricks them into hexing themselves. Well, Hopkins and the now two headed Justin Finch-Fletchley, anyway. Draco's and Theo's Protegos ensure Hermione remains well clear, not that she needed saving, thank you very much. (100b LJ / DW) At Pansy's and Hunter's questioning, she may just give the Snakes the wrong impression however. (108 LJ / DW)

After some of his Housemates steal the loo rolls, Gregory unfortunately applies a Scourgify to his, erm, manly bits. It ends in literal tears, and Millie taking him to the Infirmary. (101 LJ / DW)

Working from a mutual desire not to effectively forfeit the upcoming Quidditch match to the Moggies, Harper agrees to help Draco and the other seventh years, a little, towards that end. Between that and in the interests of inconveniencing Severus less, Harper successfully convinces the others to avenge their Head in less... debilitating fashions. (104 LJ / DW) This culminates in a good deal of magic at dinner and Theo, Draco and Blaise slinking from the Great Hall covered in bits of napkin and in Blaise's case, cutlery. (106 LJ / DW)

Ella comes up with a scheme to duplicate the pictures before Harper needs to hand them over. (107 LJ / DW) Primarily she wants to help her friend, but after Vince sent her a Serpent last year (065 LJ / DW), well she's probably doubly motivated.

As per his discussion with Harper (104 LJ / DW), Draco asks Gregory to put together a plan to get the reserve team members fit for the match. Gregory's initial enthusiasm is dampened when he learns he'll probably have to do it anonymously. (110 LJ / DW)

Unprompted, but both from similar motivations and as a result of that promised cooperation, Draco orders Vince to go easier on Harper, much to the Beater's displeasure. (111 LJ / DW) Between that, his suspicions regarding a missing phial of Lust Potion (110 LJ / DW), the Insalacious Saltpetre Slinky has put in his meals (098b LJ / DW) and Harper's Protego, Vince doesn't thrash him as thoroughly as expected. Still, it's enough to leave Harper collapsed on the training room floor. Ella quickly applies a general purpose Healing Charm to him. That and Tracey's Potion manage to set him mostly back to rights. (112a LJ / DW)

Sheldon takes the younger boys to the dorms before any fighting can break out between Vince and Harper. (111 LJ / DW)

Hunter has encountered Hermione two evenings in a row; he thinks they're starting to make a thing of it. First she rescues him in a duel against four Ravenclaws Tuesday evening. Although Pansy, Ella and Harper are summoned by the portraits to help, they arrive after the duel is over, and as far as Hunter is concerned, Hermione is the MVP, certainly at the latest when she awards him points for duelling while taking eighty off the Turkeys. (Eighty!) (080b LJ / DW) Then she discovers him and his friends stalking Ron Wednesday evening (because Dennis is seeking revenge for his brother Colin). As they plan to use a stolen Draught of Dirt (first mentioned 039 LJ / DW) against Ron, she tries to explain why this is a rubbish idea, securing her position as his all time favourite Prefect (Ella and Harper notwithstanding). (108 LJ / DW) Hunter cheerily tells his brother Harper all about it, but Harper only dampens his mood when he greets that by trying (and failing) to explain why it just isn't wise to appear too chummy with Muggle-borns at present. (109 LJ / DW)

The door to the seventh year boys' room opens, and the four lads present within instantly tense, which says everything about how much their lives have changed in the last day. It's only Vince and there's something of a collective sigh of relief. At this rate, the year isn't going to go well. He closes the door behind him and Theo throws up a protective ward.

"I assume we're in for the evening?" He asks, somewhat belatedly. Draco and Gregory nod, the other two voice no objections. Theo takes that as answer enough. But really, it's not as though he's locking them in.

Just locking everyone else out.

"How'd it go?" Gregory asks Vince from his bed where he's still trying to work his way through his Care of Magical Creatures assignment. By now he's dead sure he's going to really miss working with the girls if they can't get... this, whatever it is, sorted somehow. But how do you sort something you know absolutely nothing about? He has enough problems sorting the things he kind of understands...

It's interesting and says a lot about his priorities that he thinks more about that than the state of his manly bits this afternoon, but then Pain Relief is a wonder, and he's had some, and of course scoured bollocks aren't remotely pleasant to think about...

But then neither is loneliness...

Maybe the fitness plan he's making for the others will buy him some good will. But only if they ever find out it was his work... Which according to Draco isn't bleeding likely.

Every now and again, he has an idea and jots it on the list of things to have his teammates do. And he's probably spent half the time he was supposed to have been working wondering what he did wrong Friday in the first place. Between that and the training plan, he hasn't really made a lot of progress on his homework. It promises to be a long night...

"How's Harper?" Draco joins in before Vince can reply.

Vince's quite thoroughly dissatisfied expression in response reassures Draco more than his words possibly can. "Well enough, considering." Vince rubs his knuckles again, thinks about the less than... definitive encounter - if it had been purely up to him, obliterating the little upstart would have been the order of the day - and decides to package it as a favour. "I did you a solid and let him off lightly." But he doesn't push his luck and bang on about it. If the Lust Potion in any way contributed to their situation... Should Draco ever come to learn of it, he'll make Vince's life a never ending nightmare.

Always assuming he doesn't already know, of course.

No, just this once, perhaps it would be wise to exercise some restraint.

There's something about Draco's expression that has Vince thinking he isn't buying a word of it, but then it might be more convincing if the Beater would stop rubbing his knuckles.

Harper turns and starts to drag himself back to his bedroom and as if by silent signal, the remaining boys in the common room begin to rise and follow. There had been no question that letting the witches deal with him was probably easier on his ego, and, erm, not that they care to admit it, but beyond a doubt it was more useful. One or two of them are left thinking that it's hard to justify the fact they don't know any of the Healing Charms themselves. They reason it's because the witches are basically always available and try to let it go at that.

The sixth year leading the procession past the seventh years' closed door frankly does still feel a little woolly. There had been pain (now that he's upright, he'll readily grant: less than expected, and he's presently worrying what it will mean for him if he'd cast the Protego a bit too well) and now there isn't, but he still feels winded and it's taking his mind a moment to catch up to his body and accept there's no hurt any more. That can be disconcerting, and that effect may just be worse than usual as he'd taken the Potion before he was hit.

He's also not sure how wise it is to behave as though there weren't substantial discomfort.

Had Tracey wanted it known that she had Pain Relief... Well, he can't explain to anyone else why he's doing as well as he is, Ella is great but she isn't a miracle worker, and there's always a chance word might get back to Vince. Better not to have anyone ask any unfortunate questions.

So now that he no longer needs to reassure the girls that he's alright, Harper hams it up.

Just a bit.

After a particularly theatrical groan, Aaron asks, "Say, mate, are you sure you're alright?" Harper gives him a puzzled look that suggests the question is ludicrous. As Aaron himself had said, he'd just gotten 'Vinced' after all, hadn't he? "It's just that, with the Pain Relief, shouldn't you be doing better?"

Tor nods. "Even I know that."

"Uh... Did... Did someone tell you about that?" Harper asks his roommates cautiously.

Aaron chuckles. "Yeah, one of the girls may have mentioned it," comes the response, unwilling to name names if Harper doesn't. Of course, he's just incautiously eliminated half of their House while about it.

"Everyone knows," Tor agrees, "so you might want to look a little more lively."

"Everyone?" Harper sounds worried now.

"Right. Sorry. Entirely my fault. That was poorly worded." Tor corrects, "Not everyone, obviously, that would defeat the purpose." Too bloody right it would. "Certain interested parties don't, but the rest of us do, so you might want to act accordingly, if you catch my drift. Right now you seem something of a fraud."

"A fraud?! You try getting punched by Vince and we'll revisit that."

"Now see, I have the very good sense to avoid putting myself so squarely at his wandpoint," Tor grins back. "Or on the receiving end of his fists," he adds with a pointed glance at Harper's stomach.

"If you really had good sense, you'd keep thoughts like that to yourself," Harper grumbles amiably and then fires a Pinching Jinx at Tor's buttocks. Harper finds the answering squawk more than satisfactory, also enjoying the further proof he's recovering quite nicely.

Chuckling, they enter their room to find most of the younger boys already there with Sheldon. The others file in behind them in an unspoken show of support, save a couple of fifth years who have some matters to attend to; they'll join the rest shortly. Not one of them asks Harper how he's doing, he's old enough and plenty smart enough to make his own choices. He's vertical and acting as if nothing were amiss; so they pay him the courtesy of pretending that's the case.

Instead they begin recounting stories of the various hexes applied to Vince last night. Aaron goes to his nightstand and retrieves a Chocolate Frog he tosses to Harper. He's a natural Chaser and decent at both Keeping and Seeking; predictably he plucks it from the air with ease, following up with a word of thanks. Harper stands there eating the Frog with some relish as he listens to his Housemates with a sense of satisfaction. Sure, they may have gotten carried away, but they'd also done some pretty good work today. His mood only improves when he discovers a Salazar Slytherin card in the confection's wrapper, an occurrence generally recognised in their House as a sign of good fortune, and he's even more pleased when he hands it to Hunter ('Here, for your collection') and his little brother responds with unbridled delight. So much so, in fact, he forgoes the offer of some of Harper's chocolate in favour of showing the card off to his roommates. He'll treasure it for a couple of days before reluctantly trying to sell it on.

Eventually the self-congratulatory recounting of derring-do shifts to critiquing, they're Slytherins at the end of the day, and some gentle teasing of the third years results for that strange ear flapping they'd inadvertently produced. Perfectly reasonable really, when things go that badly amiss. Boys being boys, however, even when they're wizards, it doesn't remain purely gentle, and soon a few have drawn their wands.

"Hey, if you can recreate that Jinx, I wouldn't mind learning how to do it," Harper interjects, immediately making a few of the younger boys stand prouder. He's half sincere about that, too, but mostly eager to bolster their confidence. The teasing from the fourth and fifth years was getting a little out of hand, and that nicely puts them in their places. Some discussion ensues as to who had done what and just how the Elephant Ears Jinx had gone so badly wrong. Aaron ever so helpfully volunteers to teach them how to do it properly, which Harper isn't sure is the brightest of ideas - either the lesson or the choice in instructors - but before he can stop him, Aaron's demonstrated on Sheldon again, and to the Prefect's surprise, the Jinx both succeeds and actually ends with the proper Finite Incantatem.

Every once in a while these things have to work out.

It's shocking, really, how rarely they do.

Spirits now sufficiently buoyed all round, Sheldon, his ears once again returned to their impeccable original state (because of course he has perfect ears, too), casually asks if Harper's pictures turned out. The universal hush that follows reveals that's what they've all been waiting for.

"Brilliantly," Aaron answers for their roommate with a particularly wicked grin.

"I still need to develop them, but they've turned out well," Harper concedes. He manages to sound reasonably humble while doing so.

"I imagine it would be useful if you had an idea how many to print up?" Sheldon suggests helpfully.

"Wouldn't hurt," Harper agrees as he spreads the photographs out on his bed. Crankshaft has reappeared, Shawshank following him (apparently sensing the boys' room was likely to be more fun than her own, or perhaps she'd checked), and the half-Kneazle siblings reposition themselves on the Prefect's pillow to make more room for the artistic display. They're welcome to it as far as Harper's concerned; it can't hold a candle to Daph's lap...

Much laughing and fair amount of praise for his camerawork follows.

"When they're finished, they should be top drawer," Torsten appraises the lot warmly.

"Ripper," Aaron agrees, or at least they think so. His cheery nodding seems to suggest it anyhow.

"I'd like a dozen," Sheldon says, "Six of these, and two of each of those."

"We haven't even arranged a price..." Harper begins to object, a mite mulishly questioning their motives.

After some consultation amongst themselves, the other boys agree the photographs should go for two Galleons a piece. It's a strange negotiation where Sheldon seems to be trying to get the best deal for Harper, and haggles more aggressively than Harper ever would have, disinclined to accept things with too much of a whiff of charity as he is. Sheldon, by contrast, has absolutely no qualms about being shameless, particularly when it's clearly not for himself. It doesn't hurt that his affable charm is nearly as effective on the boys as the girls.

"Two dozen Sickles? For your very own print of the In-fairy Princess lounging on his royal Divan? Unheard of! Theft is what it is. Where else could you come by such a novelty, and so cheaply, too? Collectors' items, one and all, I guarantee it. Try twice that offer and not a Knut less!" By the time he's done, Sheldon has found the sweet spot optimising the number of pictures that will be ordered at the best possible price, and everyone seems eminently satisfied with the arrangement.

It's backwards, letting the customers set the price like that, but it's a very streamlined supply and demand approach and probably a Galleon more than Harper would have asked for them, so he has the sense to just keep his mouth shut and nod his acceptance. Hunter pipes up with the requirements for the Oath from all present, they'll need to make sure Vince never learns of this and so there won't be a repeat of tonight. If anything just the thought seems to make the pictures more appealing, the sense of something forbidden. Contraband even. Scenting an opportunity, Sheldon briefly considers renegotiating the price, but the others are already trying to put their orders together and Harper tells him to let it go.

"As I was saying, I'd like a dozen," Sheldon gets the ball rolling as he takes a seat next to Shawshank; his sister's half-Kneazle promptly clambers into his lap. For the life of him, Harper can't begin to imagine what Sheldon will do with that many prints. Paper his trunk? Christmas cards? It seems unlikely. Sheldon reads the doubt in Harper's expression and offers, "Some of the recent graduates will appreciate them, I am sure." Which is the point Tor begins to run calculations and wonder if he shouldn't be tapping into that market as well...

By the end of the week, every single one of the boys has bought at least one picture, as well as a fair few of the girls, and Harper has earned enough to buy new robes for himself and Hunter. Used ones, sure, but from Madam Malkin's and complete with all her usual Charmswork. The Head will have decent material to Geminio for the next year. And a week later, Harper will have enough for shoes, too.

With a bit of luck and clever shopping, those might actually be brand new.

Bartholomew and two of the other fifth years don't follow the rest of the boys into the sixth years' room directly. Instead they hang back slightly as they have an errand to see to. Akira Murakami, a first generation British pureblood of Japanese extraction and the fifth year boys' Prefect, performs a Homenum Revelio on the door to the seventh years' bathroom. The third member of their little group, Jay Petrel, an ash blond half-blood, applies Silencing Charms on their clothes and shoes making it likely they'll go unnoticed if they keep their wits about them, Bart's Burke family Privacy Charm enabling them to coordinate with one another without fear of getting rumbled.

Ascertaining the coast is clear, the trio slips quietly into the room.

Akira takes up position by the connecting door to the seventh years' sleeping quarters. After a Perception Charm fails, completely, to convey any noises from the other side of the door (that had been the likely result as it isn't their room, after all), a brief discussion takes place. Once Bart can confirm the results will fall within his Silencing Charm, at least after a careful adjustment, Akira quickly employs another spell to amplify the volume of anything originating from beyond the door. The results are less even than the Perception Charm's would have been, the sounds of someone's quill on parchment or another boy's robes rustling as he changes for the night are far too loud and drown out other's voices, but as the primary goal is to assure they aren't caught, it's more than satisfactory, and they get down to work.

Bart attacks the loo rolls, the Slytherin boys had had such great success on that front already today, and an ancient Egyptian curse applied possibly for the first time ever in such a mundane fashion guarantees they'll turn to dust the moment they're touched. Whatever else, the Burkes are well read; doubtless his grandfather would be beside himself with joy to know this is how the family's arcane knowledge is being put to use.

Jay dedicates himself to the towels. It's the work of moments to apply a delayed, time-lapsed and extremely tenacious Transfiguration curse that should render them to sandpaper as they're used. If the Scourgify on Gregory's bollocks comes to mind as he goes about it... Well it was presumably the inspiration for the choice of spell.

"Do you suppose you could do something similar with the floors? Turning them to broken glass once wet?" Bart suggests.

His roommate tries, and fails. Shaking his head disappointedly, the blond informs his sallow friend, "The floor is impervious to the Transfiguration."

"Hmm," Bart acknowledges thinking about it for a moment. He grabs a nearly empty bottle of shampoo from the trash, Engorgios it absurdly to increase the volume of the contents and then pours it over the floor, a Tergeo spreading it thinly and evenly around them before he shrinks the bottle and returns it to the bin once more. "Try applying it to that," he suggests as a Warming Charm dries the shampoo in place.

Jay sets about his Transfiguration curse, finishing with a laugh. "Well either it took, or they'll be standing in a sea of something tomorrow. I'm not sure quite what." Bart nods. Fair enough. It's difficult to calculate these things on the fly. At least they're making an effort, unlike most of the other plonkers.

Akira has a small phial of an inky substance, an absurdly sticky and permanent colouring derived from squid ink that seeps into the soaps and then disappears from sight as he applies it cautiously to their surfaces. When the soaps are used tomorrow morning, it should turn the unsuspecting subject a deep purplish black, not unlike their Head's favoured waistcoats in fact. The dyed glue is a popular prank amongst young wizards in Japan, and was a gift from his uncle when he visited this summer. (It had probably helped that he knew he'd be on the other side of the planet before Akira got around to using it.) He deems it... unlikely that Pomfrey has any of the dye remover required in stock.

Bart takes a closer look at the remains in the phial, and after some consideration and a little Transfiguration, they've devised what look like a couple of large throat lozenges into which the remainder is poured. Another waving of wands and the lozenges are sealed closed, Akira has detached the shower heads and soon they have their sugar and ink bombs inserted into the exposed cavities. "With a bit of luck, they'll dissolve while they're showering tomorrow."

"With a bit of luck, they'll dissolve a day or two later," Jay laughs, "because I don't think we'll be getting in here again after tomorrow."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that. I'm better at ward breaking than most are at setting them," Bart smirks.

"Better than Draco, too, you think?" Akira asks. Considering the people Draco has had available to learn from... Well, that might present a challenge. Off his expression, Bart appears to be looking forward to it.

There's another brief confab as they debate whether to apply an emetic tincture similar to the one at the base of the Puking Pastilles to the toothbrushes and mouthwash before they decide it's only likely to forewarn the seventh years someone has been at their things and defeat the other preparations.

"It's unlikely all will come into play," Akira points out rather reasonably.

"But the more the better," Bart argues in reply. "And we can always add it to their food instead."

"Do you think you can slip it in unnoticed?" Jay asks.

"If I can't I'll probably be disowned." From Bart, that sounds far more like a matter for sincere concern than bravado. "At least until they start using Protegos on their plates, I should have a pretty good chance."

"If they aren't using them by this point, they deserve whatever they get," his roommate supports the plan whole-heartedly.

"No, they deserve whatever they get either way. That was rather the point of all this," Bart disagrees.

"Let's get going," Akira interrupts. "I think I heard something." He ends his Amplification Charm on the door and they slip from the room before Vince enters and have soon rejoined the others in the sixth years' quarters.

Harper's a bit preoccupied taking orders and making sure he knows who wants how many prints of which photographs, and so it isn't surprising he doesn't catch Hunter's conversation with the other fourth years at first. Not until he hears the magic word.

'Hermione'.

That gets his attention. To the best of his knowledge, there's only one Hermione in his brother's acquaintance, and that would be Madam Snape. Harper's head whips around to face Hunter, his ears pricked up to catch the story, and sure enough, Hunter is recounting how Madam Snape, his new very best friend Hermione, was giving him pointers on how to hex the Weasel or something.

For fuck's sake.

Hunter couldn't be more oblivious if he tried as he prattles on about his adventures with the Muggle-born, and Harper has already begun scanning faces for their reactions as there's no longer a subtle way out of this for the younger boy. With luck, perhaps Harper can spin it as loyalty to the Head...

First Creevey, now this.

Harper begins to doubt he'll ever get through to Hunter, to be able to teach him the danger that lies there, but he's left wishing he'd tried harder earlier. He struggles to attract Hunter's attention, to somehow signal him to dial it back, at least a little.

It's pointless. If clear text hadn't succeeded before, any attempt at sub rosa signalling in a room full of Snakes somehow reaching Hunter without attracting anyone else's attention is obviously doomed to fail.

"... and she says Sneezle's scared spitless of spiders..."

"'Sneezle'?" Wilfred asks.

"Goes with 'Snotter', dontcha think?" Harper replies guilelessly.

Aaron barks in laughter. "Sneezle! Ha! Brill!" He turns back to call over his shoulder to Harper, "Have you heard that one before?"

"I hadn't, no." Harper is too tense to find it amusing.

And off Hunter goes again discussing Dirty Draughts that go 'boom' and how one had best not mention it had one employed such a thing, not if one hoped to get away with it anyhow, and how in that context, spiders were infinitely preferable and ultimately subtler should one mean to torment Sneezle. Because subtlety was key. He takes some teasing that a Moggie had to point that out to him, but Harper is relieved to note not one of their Housemates makes mention of the fact that that particular Gryffindork is a Muggle-born.

And the 'M' word isn't used at all. ('Mudblood', not 'Moggie'. 'Moggie' is used often enough, frankly, and on reflection - considering the audience - may be almost as offensive... But clearly not as dangerous in the present political climate. Harper gratefully takes the win.)

It went unexpectedly well, really, but Hunter can't hope to keep getting lucky if he insists on bringing this up.

Fortuitously, he then changes the topic radically for the evening when he recounts how Draco and Theo had defended the Head's bondmate against a couple of 'Puffs, and soon no one is wondering about things like the fourth year being on a first name basis with a Moggie, Muggle-born or otherwise, because they now have bigger Plimpies to fry.

At first they argue the facts of it. Clearly Hunter has it wrong. "I asked Hermione," he assures them, "I have it straight from her." An Oath, offered without prompting, proves the truth of that statement. On balance, they also (erroneously) deem it likely she wasn't equivocating. (It simply doesn't occur to any of them that she might only have wanted to make Hunter happy.)

Then they attack the accomplishment. The 'Puffs probably weren't to be taken seriously. Admittedly that's a little hard to judge in absentia, particularly with such a dearth of facts. Although if Draco and Theo were able to take them out with only a silent Protego... Well, it probably doesn't exactly speak for the 'Puffs' competence, now does it? It certainly calls their intelligence into question.

And speaking of things being called into question, if it's true, if it really happened ('Hermione says it did') what does that say about the seventh years?

"Do you suppose they're trying to atone? For whatever they did?" Sheldon asks. Couching it in terms of atonement sounds frightfully positive. Some of the others feel he might not be entirely trustworthy on the matter, though, as the Quidditch team tends to hang together.

Bartholomew has no issue replying definitively, "Either way, it's too little, too late."

"They may have just taken the opportunity to mess the 'Puffs about, letting it look like something else altogether..." Jay suggests. That sounds exactly like something Draco might do, and a few boys nod.

"While letting it look like they were protecting her? I don't know, I think it's more than that..." Tor cautiously begins. "Does that mean they've thought of something we missed? They're... more connected." It's a true statement, and neatly skirts the perceived quality of those connections. It's safer that way. "If they think that's... prudent, defending her," again Harper waits for it, but Tor doesn't even mention her blood status obliquely, "does it mean that's what we should be doing too?" He looks at the other sixth years expecting one of them to have an answer.

"Yeah, but they have something to make up for, don't they?" Aaron replies. "If there's any objection to their actions, they can always offer that as a reason. We haven't got the same excuse." The fact he sees it as an 'excuse' is telling, but hardly comes as a surprise. He may be willing to go along with their agreement to avoid verbal attacks on the witch, but he's far from sympathising with Muggle-borns apart from that.

"But if they're being... better about this than we are," Tor starts, and Aaron looks like he's about to object. "Sure, they have a ready-made excuse that we don't, but if they're willing to give the Head more support in this than we are," and again Aaron starts to interrupt; Tor holds up a hand to stop him and keeps speaking. "Regardless of who can offer what explanations for their actions, the fact remains we aren't willing to do that. To defend his bondmate.

"So would that make up for it? Whatever it was that they did?" Tor is genuinely curious and visibly undecided. It makes a difference, of course, that he has the advantage of more choices than most, coming as he does from a monied and unallied family. Moments like these it shows.

Bart replies unequivocally, "Nothing can."

"They caused this," Aaron reminds Tor, not so secretly sort of relishing the fact he might get to enjoy the equivalent of a seventh year's status in the House in his sixth year if the others are ostracised. Alberta's attentions, for instance, haven't gone completely unnoticed... Of course he'd have to have been Stupefied to have missed them, and even then, there are charms for that.

So much for the team hanging together.

"Either way," Harper shoots Aaron a disapproving look, concerned that he's given over to entertaining visions of himself coming off the Reserve bench for the next game to improbable universal acclaim, "we agreed that whatever we do, however we treat them, it won't interfere with their ability to play Quidditch."

Aaron immediately voices his agreement, "Wouldn't dream of anything else. Are you kidding? That would be dead stupid." He thinks it might just be a cake having and eating sort of situation, getting the attention while the seventh years do the hard graft, and he certainly can't object to that. He shares in any success the team has, and is quite comfortable basking in reflected glory, cheers.

Jay whispers to Akira, "Do you suppose we did that, or did we go too far?"

Akira smirks, "I believe we've... stuck to their guidelines." He expands on it, "Pomfrey can sort almost everything immediately, at worst it's briefly painful and a nuisance. The only thing she shouldn't be able to sort is the squid ink glue. And there's no reason they couldn't play Quidditch while pitch black. And tacky."

"Ever so," Jay smiles in anticipation. He's been looking forward to seeing the stuff in action since Akira first told them about it.

"You know, on the contrary, I think it might even help. It'll keep them from dropping the Quaffle. Literally. Chasers are the only ones it would hinder, and none of them play that position."

"So I guess it is safe to say we adhered to their rules," Jay chuckles.

Bart begins to lose patience with the stupid fly boys. "So what do you propose we do, Harper? Take it easy on them until the Quidditch year is done?" Harper begins to nod, but Bart snorts. "Or while we're about it, we could just wait for them to graduate, so we don't disadvantage ourselves further. We're outnumbered, after all. Us against all of them."

"Moggies, Turkeys and 'Puffs, oh my..." Akira drawls, emphasising his roommate's argument.

"I mean we can always spend the rest of their lives holding it against them," Bart continues, but Harper isn't nodding anymore. He'd thought it was simply a case of the fifth year being happy to finally get to have a go at some of the seventh years, but it really isn't. Bart isn't amongst the Quidditch obsessed, and he might just be seeing this more clearly than the rest are. Aaron hasn't quite caught up, and he's still nodding enthusiastically. "Unless it's to our disadvantage again."

Bart drives his point home, "The Head didn't deserve what they did to him, and they don't deserve to get off lightly just because they can manage a broom or shoot a few goals. What kind of avenging is that? Or have you forgotten about the likelihood of a Protection Vow?

Aaron feels like he's been led onto thin ice and left looking a little foolish. It happens. He rounds on the younger boy, "Oh, what's wrong? We're not doing what's right? You sound like a ruddy Moggie."

Unsurprisingly, Bart's wand is immediately in his hand, those are fighting words after all, and he squares off against the sixth year; if it gives him a chance to get back some of his own for his treatment the previous evening, all the better. "Do you want a go, Aaron? I could shut your mouth if you'd like." He taps the tip of the thing against his lips, in a mockery of a dueller's salute, sketching a small 'x' over his mouth with the point. That combined with the look on his face has a few more of those present now sure the stitches literally shutting Vince's gob this morning had been Bart's handiwork, not that there should have been any doubt. Merlin, he'd practically signed it with a Flagrate; he'd stopped only short of leaving a fiery 'Burke' behind on Vince's lips.

Aaron fumbles to draw his wand in turn.

"Put the wands down," Harper tells them both.

"He'd have to find his first," Akira whispers to Jay, who smirks in reply.

Harper glares at them and then looks sternly around the room, "We don't need a repeat of last night."

"Too right," Sheldon agrees leisurely. "My bed was still damp this morning." Shawshank purrs into his touch, drawing a smile from the boy.

Personally, Harper thinks that's an exaggeration, Bart's Drying Charm had been almost as good as his own, but Sheldon gives him a wink, and anything that helps keep the others in check right now is more than welcome. He doesn't need another talking to from Tracey.

Bart doesn't sheath his wand, but he does turn slightly to face Sheldon. Mostly it goes to show how little he thinks of Aaron's capabilities as a dueller. "Stop hiding behind Shoeshine and..."

"Shawshank," Sheldon corrects, and the Shafiqs' half-Kneazle purrs in agreement.

"Whatever. You've been awfully quiet, but it's your turn to weigh in on this now. Where do you stand on the team?" There's something about the way Bart says 'team' that makes it seem more than a touch disreputable.

Sheldon isn't much daunted, but he sits up a little taller, Shawshank still purring in his lap. "Well speaking as one of your reserve players, I'd love to play in the match, but I'd love it even more if we won, and we're not likely to if it's down to us. Besides that, there are four of the seventh year boys on the team and only three of us. If you take them all out, there's no way we can win, we'd be a man down, and with only ten days to the match...

"Why don't you all let us beat the Moggies next Saturday, or at least have a fair chance to do so. We're only in three matches in a year, and I can promise Aaron, Millie and I will work our hardest to make sure we aren't reliant on them for the others, we'll keep practising straight through, but I honestly don't think we'll be up to speed by the first one. And moving forward, either we need another teammate, or you'll have to lay off at least one of them for those other two matches. It's that simple."

"And just how much practice time do you think one of them would need to prepare for a match?" Akira asks.

"I imagine three weeks of prep per match should do it for them," Sheldon answers. He looks at Harper who nods.

"Was there anyone else close at tryouts?" Tor asks Harper.

"Can't we just go easy enough on them that they can still play for those three weeks each? That's only seven and a half left in total for the year..."

Harper sounds acutely uncomfortable and Tor snorts, "I take it that's a 'no'."

"I'm what passes for 'close', and I can't play more than one position at a time, Tor. In a perfect world, you want me chasing. Dinner worked, didn't it? The way we handled it? Jinxing them like that? We could keep that up, there's no reason they couldn't play like that."

"I think Blaise might have some problems trying to Keep with silverware hanging off his face..." Jay laughs.

"It's nothing the right Finite couldn't solve, though," Harper counters. "He'd have been fit to play in a matter of moments. That's all I'm asking. Give us a chance to win. We've worked too hard for this."

"Which one of them do you need most?" Akira tries to tackle it practically, but it gets him a sharp look from Bart who doesn't mean to give any quarter.

"Draco," Harper answers with a sinking feeling.

"Merlin, Harper. Three Serpents. What are you thinking? His hands and wand are as dirty as they come." Akira parries.

"Pick anyone but Draco," Jay agrees. "There's no way he gets to skate on this."

"Not entirely, of course not, just for those weeks..." Harper thinks he's beginning to sound an awful lot like he's begging.

"What difference does it make anyway?" Bart attacks. "It's not like Dumblebore will ever let us win the House Cup."

No one replies, because they all believe it's true. There's not even any use pointing to the years the Slytherins had won; it's too long in the past. Since Saint Snotter arrived, everything had changed.

"It would be nice to at least win the Quidditch Cup," Harper finally answers. "They couldn't take that from us."

"They can and they have. Who are you kidding, Harper?" Bart refuses to be swayed. Harper is beginning to regret making an example of him last night. Perhaps it was that, or maybe it was Harper's use of that particularly strong Drying Charm, never mind letting Aaron boss him around like a complete and utter plank.

"All I'm trying to say is it would be nice if we weren't making things worse for ourselves. We've really worked hard for this. I've worked hard for this."

"And the Head? What did he do to deserve... that?" And this coming from the boy making jokes about the man's honeymoon only yesterday. The underlying problem is there can be different approaches to respect. Some of the Snakes favour the right words, some favour effective deeds. The Burkes' position is so solidly established in their society that Bart is free to act on his convictions; those actions will never change anyone's opinions of him or his family. It's a stark contrast to Harper himself, which puts him more firmly in the lip service camp... It's disconcerting to think of himself that way. "Weren't you the one who told me not to disrespect him? Isn't that just what coddling the seventh years is?"

That's greeted by more silence until once again Harper replies, "Can you at least give us until after the match against Gryffindor? And we'll figure out the other two? What's ten days more or less?"

Once again they begin to discuss this quietly in their little groups. Harper can't quite figure out where they went wrong. Yesterday they'd been on board, at dinner he'd could have sworn he had them, but now he feels like he's losing more and more of them. Fine, cheesing Bart off had been... disadvantageous. But Harper had sort of thought after they caused Vince and Gregory to miss practice with their assorted shenanigans, the others would see they'd gone too far. He'd counted on this being easy, but he's underestimated the intoxicating effect drawing first blood has had on more than a few as well as Bart's ability to agitate. It doesn't help in the least that the others are overestimating the remaining team members' skills while seriously minimising the work it takes to get unpractised players up to speed. But ironically, Vince's attack on him is what's tipping the boat decidedly in the other faction's favour. As far as too many are concerned, the seventh years need proper sorting. Soonest.

When they finally agree to give him his reprieve until the upcoming match, Harper accepts it as the best he'll be able to do. Draco won't be pleased to hear it, but Harper had promised to do what he could and it looks like this is it.

Of course none of that will matter much when the fifth years' Charms in the lav go rather badly wrong tomorrow morning.