99 Chapter 99: Changes in the house of snakes

Disclaimer: 

Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K Rowling.

I own nothing but the original characters I make.

"Dialogue"

'Thoughts'

-Author notes-

Chapter 99: Changes in the house of snakes

"You are engaged?"

"With whom?"

Both Hermione and Parvati leaned forward while staring intensely at Harry.

"How did I not hear anything about this until now?" Lavender looked almost offended.

"You did not hear my sister correctly…" Harry decided to interrupt them and clear up the misunderstanding before a rumor started to circulate over the castle.

"Our family made a contract with another family. I cannot speak about the contents or which family was the contract made with. But it is not a marriage contract." 

"Yes, that's what I was about to say, you didn't let me finish!" Lyra tried to fix it.

"When I learned about it…I thought it was marriage for Harry. My bad…"

"Oh…so it was just a misunderstanding…how boring." Lavender pouted.

"So Mione still has a chance. " Parvati said out loud.

"Stop with that already!" Hermione frowned.

"Is okay Hermione, she was just teasing you. We know you like Professor Lockhart anyway." Lavender commented.

"I just respect the man!, that's different." She quickly defended.

"You can't do this to me!." 

The shout was loud enough to be clearly heard from the other side of the Great Hall, where the Slytherin table was located.

"What was that?!" Ginny was startled by the sudden shout.

"Looks like there is some drama over the snake nest!." Lavender said with interest.

"That was Draco Malfoy!, but who is he yelling at?" Asked Parvati.

"I know her…that's Pansy Parkinson." Hermione looked troubled.

"She is not…very nice to say the least."

"Don't make a scene, Draco." Pansy had her arms crossed while looking down at the angry boy. Behind her were two boys and one big girl.

"Draco, stop embarrassing yourself…" One of the boys said with a mocking grin.

"Don't even talk to me, Nott. You traitor!" Draco shouted.

"Or what?, are you going to tell your father?" Nott made an 'ops' gesture.

"My bad!"

"That's it!" Draco pulled out his wand. 

Theodore Nott and the other boy to his side, the one called Blaize Zabini did the same.

"If you want a duel, we can humor you, Draco," Zabini told him.

"Enough!" Professor Snape was angrily walking towards the students.

"Put those wands away, NOW!" He shouted.

Nott and Zabini quickly obeyed but Draco was filled with too much anger.

Snape had to physically take the wand away from him.

"Come with me!"

He then grabbed Draco by his arm and dragged him away from the hall.

Harry noted that during this whole confrontation, neither Crabble nor Goyle, got up from their seats to defend Draco. 

"Well, that was interesting!" Lavender looked static.

"I need to find out what was that about! It seems like Draco and his fiance are having some trouble."

"You shouldn't look so happy about other people's misfortune." Hermione pointed out.

"Oh please…the guy is an arse to everyone," Lavender said.

"She is right, you know?" Ron poked his head into the conversation.

"The guy is a twat."

"You think this is related to that rumor you told us on the first day?" Parvati asked Lavender.

"I suppose it could…yes, that would make sense if you think about it." Lavender said.

"What rumor? what happened?" Lyra asked them. 

"You see…" Lavender leaned forward and lowered the volume of her voice but it was still loud enough for most people on the table to hear.

"I heard from a reputable source that the Malfoy family lost most of their fortune after the death of Lord Lucius Malfoy." 

"How can that be? They are one of the richest families in Britain!" Lyra didn't know much about those matters. But she was at least taught about the most influential wizard families in the country.

"There are no specifics but… apparently, the former Lord had most of his money invested in some illegal deals and dark artifacts. After his death, the deals were ruined and the artifacts were lost. Leaving them only with a few coins in their vault." Lavender explained.

"So, Draco is poor now?. I have to taunt him about this!" Ron exclaimed.

"Why though?...we are poor too." Ginny reminded him.

"I wouldn't say they are poor…they still have many assets they could sell. But compared to where they were a year ago…there is a huge gap. And is not just about money but also influence. Lucius Malfoy was the right hand of the Minister of Magic and a member of the Board of Governors of Hogwarts. Now they lost all of that." Lavender added.

"That would explain why everyone seemed to have turned against him all of a sudden." Said Lyra.

"That could also explain why he was yelling at his fiance…" Parvati said.

"What do you mean?" Ginny asked.

"Lord Parkinson is one of the most politically powerful wizards of the country. A marriage between his family and the rich, influential Malfoys made sense, but now…" Lavender let the words hang.

"He broke the marriage contract!" Ginny realized.

"I bet that's what happened." Admitted Lavender.

"But I'm going to want all of the details."

"Of course you do…" Hermione gave her a judgmental look.

"Did you notice that his two usual bodyguards were not with him this time?" Parvati asked.

"That right. Crabble and Goyle did not move from their spot at the table." Ron said.

"That was weird, those two goons always follow him everywhere." Said Seamus.

"Yes, those two families have always been close to the Malfoys. But it looks like they started to follow someone else…" Harry commented while observing the Slytherin table.

The two big guys stood from the table and followed behind Pansy Parkinson and her friends after she started to walk away. They were treating her like some sort of Queen, much different from last year.

'The changes in the Slytherin house could be reflecting some of the changes happening on the outside…it looks like Lord Parkinson is getting ready to step into the light.'

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