Chương 30: Professor Snape's Revenge
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"Don't get cocky. I've heard that Snape, if he gets angry, can do a lot of damage." © Ron Weasley
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- You know, it's quite normal that you couldn't become a Seeker. Cedric's older than you, and he's graduating soon. He's probably been playing since sophomore year and practicing every year. It's no big deal that you lost to him.
The qualifiers for the Hufflepuff Quidditch team started in the afternoon and lasted until the evening, so Harry and Justin went straight to dinner when they got back from the stadium. Potter's insides were dancing at the thought of playing his first match, but Finch-Fletchley thought he was upset about missing the Seeker position, so he tried to calm him down. First he talked about the delights of playing catcher, and let Potter hold his personal bat, signed by Bagman and designed for Quidditch. It was a very cool bat indeed, and it was no comparison to the one Harry had been waving a few minutes ago, but that wasn't enough for Justin - now he was trying to explain that Potter had never stood a chance against Diggory in the first place.
- Tell me, who won the inter-faculty Quidditch championship last year? - Harry asked a leading question.
- Ravenclaw, we both know that, what are you implying?
- That's right, Ravenclaw, and their Seeker is Zhou Chang. She caught the snitch in every game last year, beating Diggory in a head-to-head match, by the way. She told me that I was on the same level as her, and if I was on the same level as the best Seeker at Hogwarts," Justin raised his eyebrows sceptically at this point, but Harry didn't notice, "then I could beat Cedric Diggory.
- Maybe her judgement was biased. No, I'm not implying anything," Finch-Fletchley interjected hastily. - You just can't judge on Zhou's judgement alone. She's not even a coach. If you want an outside opinion, you'd better consult Madame Trück. By the way, you can go right now, dinner hasn't started yet.
- Okay, you're right," Harry had to admit. - But just so you know, I don't care. Seeker, keeper, hunter, goalkeeper... It's all the same, as long as I get to play Quidditch, and I don't care about the rest. And it's a good time to go to dinner, I made the schedule in first year and we're only a couple of minutes ahead of it, so we'll be there just in time for dinner.
- Suit yourself. If you need help learning how to play the bludgers properly, don't hesitate to ask. You know, hitting power, accuracy, wind speed, that sort of thing. I, unlike you, have long ago decided that I'm going to play on the position of a bludger, and have long since familiarised myself with the literature on the subject.
- No, I'll do it myself," Harry refused to help.
For some reason this situation reminded him of the one in which he hadn't helped Justin with his spells because he didn't have time, and it was wrong, in Potter's humble opinion, to accept someone else's help when he hadn't given it originally.
- 'By the way,' Finch-Fletchley said suddenly. - Why was Cedric asking you about Tonks, are they friends?
- They're seeing each other, didn't I tell you? - Harry answered without turning round.
The doors to the Great Hall were already showing up.
- 'Uh-oh... Really, are they?
"No, I cheated," Potter was tempted to say. Such clarifying questions made him feel some kind of incomprehensible anger. Instead, he turned around and clarified:
- "Of course, he was visiting us over the summer, but now they're having a bit of a bad time, and Tonks is passing insults through me.- Mm-hm... I see.
Harry turned around and looked at Justin again, surprised to see that this was not his usual behaviour. That was something to think about later, though.
There were only a couple of people in the Great Hall. A few seniors at the Ravenclaw table, Fred, George and Percy at the Gryffindor table, Malfoy, Goyle and a few other sophomores at the Slytherin table. Professor Snape sat proudly alone at the teacher's table - Harry gave him a hateful look that he apparently didn't even notice.
- Look, the table's set, dinner's already started, and you said so! - Potter said, turning to Justin.
- I didn't say there wouldn't be anyone, I just assumed we were going too early," Finch-Fletchley objected.
He sat down in his usual place and gulped down a goblet full of pumpkin juice poured by the elves.
- Man, I'm so exhausted from this training, I could use a drink from the sea - can you give me your juice? - Justin was already reaching for the cup.
- Hey," Harry stopped his hand, and immediately drank the juice he was due. - I've been in training, too, so let me have some, there's a jug a few metres away from you; if you want it so badly, you can get up and pour it for yourself.
Finch-Fletchley shrugged his shoulders, took the jug next to him and drained it in a couple of gulps.
- Justin! You can't do that! - Harry was outraged. - It's not your cup.
- Who cares? - Justin smiled and leaned back in his chair. - It was his problem now.
He waved his head in the direction of the cup holder's seat and settled even more languidly into his chair. Harry tried to verbalise his outrage for about ten seconds, but just gave up. An aristocrat, what the hell - he had a mansion and personal servants to set the table - he was probably used to having everything in sight belonging to him.
The rest of the dinner was silent - Potter had eaten his portion of fried potatoes and wieners in peace, had some more potatoes, and was now waiting for Justin to finish eating so he could head into the living room. The latter, noticing that his friend was already finished with his meal, sped up dramatically as he suddenly pointed a finger behind Harry's back and said excitedly:
- Look, Malfoy's coming right over here!
Harry turned round. Draco was indeed heading towards them rather quickly, remarkably, one of his 'bodyguards' - Goyle - remained in place, from which it could be deduced that Malfoy was hardly planning to fight.
- I see. Why do you think that is? To be honest, I'm a bit wary of him.
- What?" Justin looked away from Malfoy and stared at Potter in horror.
- What?" Harry didn't understand at first, but suddenly he realised what he'd just said. - I... I don't know why I said that.
- What, are you eating? - Malfoy's arrival temporarily saved Harry from having to justify himself.
"Yes, we are," "Go to hell!" - Potter and Finch-Fletchley replied simultaneously. Justin wasn't going to be ceremonious with Malfoy, but Harry, on the other hand, wasn't trying to cause a conflict and just calmly stated the fact.
- I'm not here to talk to you, muggle," Draco raised his head arrogantly. - Potter, how are you doing? Any secret you want to tell me about?
Justin laughed, showing his contempt for Malfoy.
- Hey, freak, do you seriously think...
- 'Actually, I don't really want to, but I'll tell you,' Harry interrupted him. - This morning when I got up, I had a bad runny nose, so I wiped my snot on my pillow.
There was silence, interrupted only by the tapping of spoons and the laughter of one of the twins at the Gryffindor table. Justin opened and closed his mouth a couple of times like a fish, trying to say something, but he couldn't quite figure out what it was. Finally he formulated his question:
- Harry. What. You. You're carrying?
- Shut your mouth, muggle! - Malfoy pulled out his wand and pointed it at Justin. - Tell me something else. Did you break any school rules?
Harry was about to answer, but Justin clamped his hand over his mouth in time. Potter didn't react to Finch-Fletchley's touch - he didn't care about his phobia, Harry had more important things to do right now - he needed to tell Malfoy about all his secrets. At the same time, Finch-Fletchley tried to pull out his wand with his other hand, but Draco was just waiting for that.
- Expelliarmus," Malfoy said quietly.
The wand flew out of his hand into the wall and fell to the floor, with the chair Justin was sitting on shifting half a metre.
- Tell me, Potter, everything you're hiding.
- Everything I'm hiding? Okay," Harry agreed calmly. - I was in the Forbidden Corridor twice in first year: the first time alone, Flitwick covered for me, and the second time at night, with a few Gryffindors, we couldn't get the door open. What else? Oh yes, my favourite colour is pink. It's so girly, just like a Barbie doll, I think I'd be comfortable walking around in pink clothes. There's a girl I like from Ravenclaw, her name's Zhou Chang, also...
- Shut up, Potter, just shut up," Justin put his hand over his mouth again.
- 'No, Potter, go on,' Malfoy said and pointed his wand at Finch-Fletchley. - If you get in the way, I'll put a spell on you.- If Harry says one more word, my wand," Justin pulled out his personal bat, "will collide with your head and we'll see whose wand is stronger.
Malfoy fell silent, assessing the threat of the bat that was dangerously close to his head. And Harry waited for Finch-Fletchley to remove his hand so he could tell Draco about how he had rushed from Moody with all his might.
- 'All right, fine, Potter, don't tell,' Malfoy stepped back a couple of metres, then suddenly shouted: - LISTEN UP EVERYONE! Harry Potter likes Zhou Chang from Ravenclaw!
The rest of the students sitting in the Great Hall turned round at Draco's loud shout; they had finally noticed that something strange was going on at the Hufflepuff table.
- Is this some sort of confession? - Fred asked perplexed. - Oh well, then I should get going too.
He stood up from the table, took a breath of air and shouted:
- Listen up, everyone! Fred Weasley likes Angelina Johnson!
As expected, he was instantly backed up by George - he did all the same actions as his brother and shouted:
- Listen up everyone! Draco Malfoy likes Pansy Parkinson! And Percy Weasley is crazy about his Head Girl badge!
- And Severus Snape absolutely hates shampoo! - Fred kept up with his brother.
Snape! Potter's head shot up sharply and he suddenly realised that something strange was happening to him. He turned to the teacher's desk, where the Potions professor was watching in proud solitude with clearly visible pleasure - not even the twins' rejoinder and subsequent laughter could diminish his satisfaction at what was happening. Harry tried to control his impulse to tell everyone about his secrets, but it was extremely difficult - it felt like his mouth didn't belong to him. Just then another Quidditch qualifier, whose last name Harry never bothered to learn, entered the Great Hall.
- Alistair, help! Harry's been drugged, is there anything you can do to shut him up? - Justin immediately turned to him, trying to ignore the Weasley twins' next loud confessions.
Potter was finally no longer in control of his body, he broke free of Justin's tutelage and walked over to the arriving Puffenduian.
- Hi, Alistair - do you know that I think your mistake is the reason I didn't make Seeker today?
The latter raised his eyebrows perplexedly, pulled out his wand and exclaimed:
- Sleep! Wingardium...
But Potter didn't hear the end of the second spell. Reality for him suddenly disappeared and he fell into a dream.
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