Thalia was quickly pulled into an empty classroom and she couldn't even protest before Harry started talking at a rapid pace. "What're you thinking? Corrupting Neville, of all people?" Harry hissed angrily.
"Hey, don't be mad," Thalia said with a small smile. Harry had his forearm pressed up against Thalia's neck to prevent her from moving and Thalia could've easily shot him across the room but she didn't for some reason. "Neville just wanted to be a winner, for once."
"A winner?" Harry scoffed. "You think you're going to be such a winner fighting along Voldemort?" Thalia winced at the sound of his name but she immediately covered it up with a blank face.
She raised her eyebrow. "I'm giving Neville options," Thalia said coldly. "Whether he ends up being a winner or not is on him."
"You're bloody insane," Harry exhaled in disbelief.
"I'm not being insane, I'm being rational. I'm fifteen, Potter," Thalia scowled. "I don't want to die just yet."
"Yet, you'll surely die on Voldemort's side," the raven-haired Gryffindor said. "Neville's a good person. Don't go around trying to corrupt people like him."
"You can't tell me what to do," Thalia snarled. "Merlin, I could kill you right now and no one would even find the body." Harry's eyes widened even more and his mouth opened in horror but Thalia only smiled again. "Unfortunately, the Dark Lord wants to be the one to kill you. If I killed you, I'm promising death upon myself as well."
Harry stared at her for a moment. It wasn't the same girl that he remembered, the one he was so smitten by. She seemed darker, more lifeless in a way. Harry missed her.
"Stupefy."
Harry was suddenly shot backwards and flew over all the desks, his body being thrown onto the chalkboard. Harry collapsed on the floor, feeling somewhat tired and frozen. Thalia walked over to him, her black heels clacking along the wooden floor as she did so.
Stray locks of her brunette hair fell in front of Thalia's face as she stared down at him with a mixed expression. "Petrificus Totalus," Thalia said with her hand over Harry's body.
Thalia knelt down next to him and Harry wanted to push her away or pull his wand out but he was unable to move.
Thalia brushed some of Harry's curly hair out of his face and Harry felt calmed by her delicate touch, although he still had a hatred for her. Thalia looked over him with a soft gaze and her green eyes met with his brown ones.
"Have fun with your life while you still have it, Harry," Thalia whispered. She got to her feet and brushed off her skirt as she exited the empty classroom.
-----
Harry had a newfound sense of reality as he entered his dorm and grabbed Neville's book on his bed. He snatched it out of Neville's hands and slammed the book shut. "Harry, what're you-"
"I know you want options, Neville, but you don't need options," Harry insisted. "Our side will take you whether you can do wandless magic or not." Neville looked at him with an ashamed look and Harry added, "or magic in general."
"Who's on our side?" Neville asked. Neville liked that he was being wanted for once but it was a bit strange to just join a side when you're not sure if you'll win or not.
"I don't know," Harry answered shortly, "but we'll find people and we'll recruit them and we'll train them. Well, I'll train them. You can be my first recruit."
"Okay," Neville said slowly, "but what exactly is our side?"
"People who hate Voldemort almost as much as we do."
-----
"Bloody immature," Thalia muttered. Her and Blaise were leaning against a tree together with their arms crossed as they watched their friends. They all had the same free period and Blaise and Thalia were dragged along but didn't want to participate in Draco and Theo's idiotic bullying.
Draco, Theo, Crabbe, and Goyle were forming a square and there were two small Hufflepuffs in the center. The older boys tossed the Hufflepuffs' items around and the Hufflepuffs were forced to chase around inside the square. Every time they tried to give up and just exit without their belongings, one of the Slytherins pushed them back into the center.
"Draco's a Prefect," Blaise added. "He shouldn't be doing this." They both knew that the only reason Draco was Prefect was because his father had generously donated to Hogwarts.
Thalia was Prefect as well but she wasn't going to stomp on her friends' fun. She kept shaking her head but neither her or Blaise stepped in.
"Come on, you tossers!" Thalia called. "Free period's over in 5 minutes and we've got Transfiguration next! You know how McGonagall gets when we're late!"
"3 more minutes, Lia!" Draco yelled back while tossing a roll of parchment into the air. Thalia felt like she was babysitting children but she didn't oppose Draco's demand.
Just then, the Golden trio rounded the corner. Since 2/3 of the Golden trio were Prefects, they felt obligated to reprimand the Slytherins. "Malfoy!" Hermione screeched. "Nott! Crabbe! Goyle! Give their things back!"
Draco threw his head back in frustration but still handed the items back to the Hufflepuffs and the small boys ran off with their things. The Slytherins formed a v-shape as the Golden Trio approached and Draco folded his arms in front of his chest defensively. "If it isn't the mudblood," Draco scowled.
Hermione fumed and she clenched her jaw as the Golden Trio stood face to face with the Slytherins. "10 points from Slytherin each for bullying kids and 10 points from you for using foul language!" Hermione reprimanded.
"Fine," Draco sneered. "40 points from Gryffindor for stopping me from bullying kids."
"You can't do that!" Hermione exclaimed hotly.
"I can do whatever I want," Draco smirked. "I'm Prefect after all."
"You think you can do everything you want," Ron said with narrowed eyes.
"That's because I can, Weasel."
Blaise and Thalia rolled their eyes and both sighed as they pushed themselves off the trunk of the tree and made their way to the two groups. "Is there a problem here, Granger? Weasley?" Thalia asked politely.
"Thank God, someone unbiased," Hermione commented. Ever since that night at the Yule Ball, Hermione thought differently of Thalia. She was nicer and more willing to listen than the other Slytherins, at least in Hermione's opinion. "This lot was bullying these two Hufflepuffs and then Malfoy took 40 points from Gryffindor for no reason!"
"I had a very viable reason, I'll tell you that," Draco chirped.
"The reason, Draco?" Thalia sighed.
"She was stopping me from bullying kids!" the platinum blonde spat.
"And how many points did you take from Slytherin, Granger?" Thalia asked. Hermione's face became slightly red and she inhaled sharply.
"I took 50, but it was perfectly justified. 10 points from each boy and extra 10 from Malfoy because he used foul language," Hermione explained.
"I only spoke facts," Draco shrugged. "Tell me I'm wrong, Granger. Are you not a mudblood?"
"Why you-"
"Okay," Thalia cut in. "Well, since you've taken 50 from Slytherin when there were four of them, and Draco took 40 from Gryffindor when there's only three of you." She paused her a moment in thought, holding out her fingers as she counted in her mind. "Right, I've come to an easy solution."
"What is it?" Hermione asked.
"30 more points from Gryffindor for being annoying and making us late to Transfiguartion. Well, I would say it was nice talking to you, Granger, but it really wasn't," Thalia said quickly. She linked her arm with Draco and he obnoxiously waved as the group walked away.
"You can't do that!" Hermione shouted after them, starting to walk after them. The Slytherins broke out into a full sprint while laughing, causing Hermione to run after them but she couldn't catch up. "That's abuse of power!"
"By the time we're done with you, Granger, there'll be no chance of Gryffindor winning the House Cup!" Thalia screamed over her shoulder.
Thalia and her friends were in her own little world and they hadn't even realized Professor Umbridge and Argus Filch, the caretaker, watching them from an open window on the second floor.
"Pull up everything you have on that group," Umbridge demanded in her high, giggly voice.
"The trio?" Filch asked.
"No, the Slytherins," Umbridge clarified. "Get as much information on the blonde boy in the front and the brunette."