A Clash of Wills

"You're nothing, Potter - not to the people who really matter." Draco thought, under the circumstances, that wasn't too bad. He wasn't prepared for Potter to verbally rip him to shreds.

"You are so wrong, Draco. You see, without daddy's money, it's you who's nothing." Harry then began to lay out exactly what he meant with devastating accuracy.

"Without daddy's money, Crabb and Goyle wouldn't be following you around. Without daddy's money, Pansy wouldn't be on your arm. Without daddy's money, you wouldn't even be on the quidditch team. Here's the thing though, when that's the only tool in your bullying arsenal, it falls apart when you are faced with people who don't give a fuck about your daddy's money."

"He's just as weak a wizard as you - I watched a house elf dump him on his arse. Without daddy's money, your father would be in Azkaban - where he belongs. Do you see it now, Draco? Take away the money and the Malfoys are nothing. Now go and annoy someone who cares what you think or say."

As Harry turned and stepped away, Draco's wand slipped into his hand. He'd had it ready, up his sleeve, hoping for just such an opportunity. With Potter's back only six feet away, he couldn't miss. "Densaugeo!"

The curse hit Harry in the back, causing his two front teeth to instantly begin to lengthen. Hermione got in front of Ron and Neville, both of whom were drawing their wands. "Stop, that's exactly the reaction Malfoy's trying to get out of you. Then it's their word against ours who started this."

Draco was standing with a look resembling orgasmic bliss on his face. He'd actually managed to hit Potter with a spell - this was a good day. His good day didn't last for long. Harry spun around and snatched Draco's wand right from his fingers.

Draco opened his mouth to demand it be returned at once but no sound was emitted, Harry's right foot had just connected with Draco's family jewels - at great speed and with considerable force.

The Slytherin seemed to silently melt onto the floor, taking enough time that there were now five wands pointed at the three Slytherins still standing. Harry's teeth were making it difficult to talk so Hermione took over.

"Throw your wands on the floor, beside Malfoy. We don't want them, we just want to stop you using them on us when we turn our backs." As their wands landed beside a Draco Malfoy who just wanted the pain to go away, Hermione cast a charm on Harry's teeth to stop them growing any longer.

"Let's get you to Madam Pomfrey. She'll fix this in a jiffy. It will certainly be less painful than what Malfoy is feeling at the moment." As Hermione and Luna led Harry to the infirmary, Ron and Neville followed - but kept their wands trained on the Slytherins until they rounded the first corner.

...

Harry could feel the longing coming from Hermione as she watched while Madam Pomfrey shrank his front teeth back to normal size. 'Aren't your parents dentists? Won't they fix your teeth if they're making you unhappy?'

'My mum and dad say there's nothing wrong with them, and that I'll grow into them eventually.'

As Poppy declared herself happy with her ministrations, Harry acted. "Thank you again, Madam Pomfrey. I think a bit of the curse hit Hermione too. Could you do the same for her?"

All three of them knew that was utter nonsense but the look of longing coming from Hermione soon had the school healer carrying out another procedure.

Watching the girl's face light up in delight as she looked at her new smile in the hand mirror had Poppy smiling too. Those smiles didn't last for long though as Dumbledore and McGonagall entered the infirmary.

Harry decided to get his say in first, though he didn't think it would make any difference. "Professor McGonagall, I was on my way to see you. Madam Pomfrey has just finished treating me for the curse Draco Malfoy hit me in the back with. I have his wand here as evidence, with Hermione, Ron, Neville and Luna all witnessing the attack."

Dumbledore basically just ignored all of that, proving Harry right. "Harry, why did you attack Mr Malfoy in that vicious manner? You could have done irreparable harm to the boy for what was nothing more than a harmless prank spell."

Expecting nothing else but that reaction, Harry still pleaded his case. "He cursed me in the back, and still had his wand trained on me - until I took it from him. Am I supposed to wait until Malfoy fires the cruciatus curse on me before you'll even consider taking action against him?"

A sigh of disappointment from Dumbledore was the only clue he'd actually heard Harry at all. Shaking his head in frustration, Harry barely held his temper as he told Albus bloody Dumbledore some home truths.

"I am what you made me, Headmaster. It all began the night my parents were murdered - and you deliberately denied my godfather and godmother custody of me. At the Dursleys, the slightest misdemeanour, intentional or not, resulted in a beating. That's where you left me, on the doorstep like a pint of milk, and still continue to send me back there."

"We are all products of our environment. Malfoy thinks his rich Death Eater father allows him to behave however he wants, you think you know what's best for everyone and I now refuse to bow down to bullies - whether they be professors or students."

"Harry, you need to come with me to my office. I fear for you with this new attitude…"

"Sir, there's not a chance in hell of me going to your office, you can expel me from Hogwarts first."

McGonagall exploded at hearing Harry say that. "Mr Potter, you will apologise at once to the Headmaster, that was totally uncalled for."

Turning to face the angry Scot, Harry didn't back down an inch. "Should I follow the Headmaster to his office, the chances of me leaving it proclaiming Snape to a wonderful professor, Malfoy as my best friend and Hermione no longer my girlfriend would be very high."

....

Guys my p@treon is live...

Join now to read ahead by more than 60 chapters.

Link: pa*treon.com/Amelie796 (Remove the *)