PUPPET. ❪ Draco Malfoy ❫ ✓

eight

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"You're dead, Potter," Draco threatened.

Harry raised his eyebrows in amusement. "Funny, you'd think I'd have stopped walking around..."

Draco's face flurried and flushed with anger. Harry felt a detached satisfaction at the sight of Draco's face.

"You're going to pay. I'm going to make you pay for what you've done to my father."

"Well, I'm terrified now," Harry replied sarcastically. "I s'pose Lord Voldemort's just a warm-up act compared to you three - what's the matter?" Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle froze at the mention of Voldemort. "He's your dad's mate, isn't he? Not scared of him, are you?"

Venus, who was talking to a few third-year Hufflepuffs, saw what was happening and hurriedly apologized to the Hufflepuffs, saying that they would talk another time.

Venus maneuvered her way in between Draco and Harry. "What is going on here? You ought to think that you two would at least stop fighting when it's this close to the end of the year."

Draco snarled at her. "You ought to think that you would keep yourself out of our business."

Venus snarled back. "You ought to know that Crabbe and Goyle obviously have nothing to do with you and Harry."

Draco ignored her and looked over her shoulder to stare back at Harry.

"You think you're such a big man, Potter. You wait. I'll have you. You can't land my father in prison - "

"I thought I just had," Harry responded as he yanked Venus behind him.

She huffed, clearly not enjoying being the seemingly damsel in distress.

"The dementors have left Azkaban. Dad and the others'll be out in no time," said Draco.

"Yeah, I expect they will. Still, at least everyone knows what scumbags they are now - "

Draco's hand flew toward his wand, but Harry was much quicker.

"Draco!" Venus warned him, but he paid no attention.

"Potter!" Professor Snape's voice rang across the entrance hall. "What are you doing, Potter?" he demanded as he strode over to the four.

"I'm trying to decide what curse to use on Malfoy, sir," replied Harry.

Snape stared at him. "Put that wand away at once. Ten points from Gryff - " Snape looked toward the giant hourglass on the walls with a sneering smile on his face. "Ah. I see there are no longer any points left in the Gryffindor hourglass to take away. In that case, Potter, we will simply have to - "

"Add some more?"

"Professor McGonagall!" Snape said. "Out of St. Mungo's, I see!"

"Yes, Professor Snape, I'm quite as good as new. You two - Crabbe, Goyle - " She beckoned them over. "Here," she thrusted her carpet bag into Crabbe's chest and her cloak into Goyle's, "take these up to my office for me."

They followed her orders and stomped away up the marble staircase.

"Right then," Professor McGonagall said as she looked up at the hourglasses on the wall. "Well, I think Potter and his friends ought to have fifty points apiece for alerting the world to the return on You-Know-Who! What say you, Professor Snape?"

"What? Oh - well - I suppose..."

"So that's fifty each for Potter, the two Weasleys, Longbottom, and Miss Granger," said Professor McGonagall as a shower of rubies fell down into the bottom bulb of Gryffindor's hourglass. "Oh - and fifty for Miss Lovegood and Miss Everild, I suppose," she added as a number of sapphires and emeralds fell into the Ravenclaw and Slytherin hourglasses. "Now, you wanted to take ten from Mr. Potter - I think - Professor Snape, so there we are..."

Ten rubies retreated into the upper bulb.

"Well, Potter, Malfoy, Everild, I think you ought to be outside in a glorious day like this," Professor McGonagall said.

Venus grabbed Harry's hand and stalked away, giving Draco a face that told him they would talk later.

"You are such an idiot," she whispered to Harry.

"Like I haven't been told that before," he scoffed.

"Picking a fight with Draco is not a good idea, you git. You should stick with silently plotting against Voldemort. You're better at that."