[64]:Malfoy

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Harry nodded at that and then started ticking off points one by one on his fingers. "A baby dragon. In a cage. Breathing fire. Transported on wooden broomsticks. Presumably flying in tandem. All the way from here to Romania." Harry shook his head. "And these are friends of Charlie Weasley's, you say? Are you quite sure they're not his enemies that he's scheming to destroy? You already know the penalty for unlicensed dragon breeding. Have you looked up the penalties for international dragon-smuggling? Because I bet they're a lot worse."

"Harry..." started Neville.

"What kind of dragon?" interrupted Harry.

The two looked at one another. "A Norwegian Ridgeback," said Hermione.

"Uh-huh. And has anyone pointed out to Hagrid that he lives in a wooden hut?"

"Repeatedly," sighed Neville.

"Right. The answer is no, I'm not getting involved. Not when grown men who should know better involve kids our age in criminal activities because 'it's fun.' I bet every single person involved in this is a Gryffindor." He shook his head as he took in the ridiculousness of the situation. "Seriously, if you're worried about Hagrid getting into trouble, why don't you just tell McGonagall about it? Lord knows there's worse things at Hogwarts than an illicit baby dragon that the staff will merrily cover up."

"Professor McGonagall, Harry," said Hermione, causing the Slytherin to close his eyes and quickly count to ten. "And I don't think that even she will overlook illegal dragon-breeding."

"Which only makes it even more obvious that it's not something First Years should be involved with. I have begged you not to get involved in Jim Potter's crazy schemes 'til I'm blue in the face, and now, you want to risk expulsion because a staff member wants an illegal pet dragon! I don't know what else to say!"

"You don't have to say anything, Harry! If you'll recall, I didn't want to involve you anyway!" said Hermione angrily before getting up and walking away.

Neville sighed. "Nice going, Harry." He stood and followed his fellow Gryffindor out of the Library. Harry closed his eyes again and rubbed his temples. Too frustrated to return to Occlumency training (which was ironic, as Occlumency was supposed to help with emotional control), he packed up his bags and returned to his dorm.

Unfortunately, if he had any hopes that the Slytherins were acting more sensibly than the Gryffindors, they were quickly dashed. Harry walked through the passage door just in time to see Theo hop three times in the direction of his wand which was lying on the floor before losing his balance and falling flat on his face. Nearby, Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle were laughing at him with their wands out when they noticed Harry come in. Rather foolishly, they hesitated for a second before targeting him, long enough for Harry to reflexively draw his own wand. Faced with three opponents, Harry ignored them all and pointed his wand behind them.

"ACCIO COFFEE TABLE!" At Harry's command, the coffee table behind the boys slid quickly in his direction, knocking all off their legs out from under them and dumping the three to the ground. Off to one side, Pansy Parkinson tried to stealthily draw her own wand. Without even looking, Harry said, "I wouldn't, Pansy. You wouldn't look quite so fetching covered in boils." She froze, her eyes wide. Meanwhile, Theo recovered his wand, swiftly cast the counter-jinx to the Leg-Locker Curse that had been used on him, and jumped up to stand at Harry's side.

"So, you've been reduced to cravenly bullying your own fellow Slytherins in the Common Room, Malfoy? Your father would be so proud."

"Shut up, Halfblood!" snarled Draco as he climbed to his feet. "You're no more worthy to mention my father than you are to even be a Slytherin!"

Harry shook his head sadly. "Was Halloween that long ago, Malfoy, that you've already forgotten it? You're pretty brave when it's three on one. Do you want to try three on two?"

"Ahem!" said Blaise as he walked into the room twirling his wand. "Three on three, actually. Sorry, Theo. I was taking a nap and didn't hear the commotion."

Harry smiled and looked back at Draco. "Three on three it is, Malfoy. In your case, that's like being hopelessly outnumbered."

Draco's face was a mask of rage. But then, he focused on Theo and sneered. "And to think: the son of Lord Tiberius Nott, dependent on blood traitors, consorting with Mudbloods even. I wonder what your father would say if he knew."

Theo stiffened, but he refused to show fear. "Why don't you go tell him then, Draco? Running around, tattling on people like a spoiled child seems to be your forte."

Harry glanced at Theo with a measure of pride. Then, he looked back at Draco speculatively. "Malfoy, are you ... quite ... sure this is the route you want to take? Do you fully understand how much you're ... escalating things?"

Draco moved closer to the two with a superior expression. "Always target your enemy's greatest weakness. My father said that was one of the secrets of winning in Slytherin. Your greatest weakness is Theo Nott."

Harry crooked an eyebrow at that. "So your father taught you that, eh, Draco?" he thought to himself. "Interesting. I've read that book from the Prince's Lair, as well. The actual quote is 'Target your enemy's greatest weaknesses, but always from the shadows, lest you invite his strongest reprisal.' Do you know what sort of reprisal you're inviting right now?"

He said none of that, however. "Our disagreement has become awfully public, Malfoy," he said instead, almost amiably. "Maybe we should take this to our dorm room for a more ... civilized discussion."

Draco smiled victoriously. "After you."

Harry put his wand away and confidently walked in the direction of the boys' dorm. Theo walked behind Harry to his right side, glaring at Malfoy and his lackeys as he went past. Blaise fell in behind Harry on the left alongside Theo as they ascended the stairs.

"Harry..." Theo started.

"It's alright, Theo," Harry interrupted calmly. "Everything's fine. I've got this." His voice was low and, while it not as frightening or dangerous as it was last Boxing Day, it nevertheless reminded Theo uncomfortably of how Harry talked that night with Jim Potter in the Mirror Room.

Minutes later, the six Slytherin First Years were in their dorm room facing each other.

"So, tell me, Malfoy. What exactly do you know about Tiberius Nott that you leads you to think your threats should bother us?"

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