[1990 Pt.13]

Nathan sighed as he observed his housemates engaged in a heated debate about the selection of the seven members who would accompany Jones on their mission. His- hopes for a peaceful reconciliation had been shattered, much like an Avada Kedavra striking its target, due to the fierce rivalry between the Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors. To make matters worse, it felt as if destiny had added a Cruciatus to the mix, with the entire house now vying for a spot in the game.

Nathan realized that the chances of him influencing the situation to prevent damage to the relationship between the two houses were slim to none. The question now was how to manage the fallout effectively.

In order to do that, Nathan needed the support of his fellow Hufflepuffs. He couldn't afford to let the houses become too isolated, especially with a looming war on the horizon.

With determination, Nathan decided to intervene. He manoeuvred his way through the crowd and peered into the circle where the older students were fervently discussing their plans. Three names, Philip, Tonks, and Hestia, had already secured their positions, while the remaining five spots were still up for grabs.

Frustration and tension mounted among the older students as they vied for a place in the group. Nathan took action, raising his wand to create a loud bang that grabbed everyone's attention in the common room.

Nathan lowered his wand and spoke up, "Sorry about that, but all this arguing won't bring us any closer to victory."

One of the seventh-year students, who Nathan knew was a jackass, scoffed, "Here comes the kid," he looked around before saying in a pretend-whisper, "Now little Grey is going to teach us all about how to win a gauntlet."

Nathan twitched at the insult before he sneered at the idiot and said, "Well, it doesn't seem like there's much planning going on around here. No wonder the other houses think they can walk all over us with people like you in charge. Do I need to remind you that most of the house is still underage you condescending cunt?"

Nathan knew that challenging a fellow Hufflepuff directly during the discussion might not win him any popularity points, but he also recognized the unique dynamics of this magical world. In this world, magic negated the usual advantages of numbers and size, and quality often triumphed over quantity. This moment could be crucial for the future, so he challenged the status quo as he needed things to go his way.

Nathan possessed superior magical skills compared to most wizards. He dedicated himself to daily training in preparation for the impending war. While his training regime wasn't as gruelling as some muggle armies, he had become a formidable combatant, surpassing the skills of the average wizard. Although he lacked practical experience with certain powerful spells due to a lack of practice opportunities, his combat capabilities surpassed those of most aurors. The only area where he fell short was in experience. In the majority of magical disciplines, he studied, he outshone everyone but the most dedicated magical scholars.

Nathan found some satisfaction in the fact that the individual who had mocked him was generally disliked by many younger Hufflepuffs because of his condescending attitude for those he believed his inferiors. Nathan's focus lay more on the companions he would spend the next few years with, rather than the senior students who would soon leave Hogwarts.

As expected, the seventeen-year-old didn't take Nathan's words kindly. He hissed, "You little–" But before he could finish his sentence, Philip intervened, grabbing the boy's wrist that was going for the wand held in his back pocket before he turned and gave Nathan a stern glare.

"Stop it, you two!" Philip demanded, attempting to quell the escalating conflict in the common room. Nathan internally praised the boy for his quick response but he wasn't going to stop.

"Really, Philip? You've all been arguing for the last forty minutes, and you're no closer to reaching a consensus. And when I attempt to suggest an idea to resolve the problem," Nathan gestured toward the angry boy who was glaring at him, "this guy starts mocking me! I didn't start it, and I refuse to take such disrespect from anybody."

Philip's glare softened, and he said, "There will still be no use of such language here."

Nathan nodded in agreement before he asked, "So, can I suggest my idea now?"

Philip maintained a deadpan expression and replied, "Go ahead."

Nathan elaborated on his proposal, saying, "To be eligible for the gauntlet, a student must secure nominations from at least three other Hufflepuffs. However, the students nominating someone will sacrifice their own right to participate. In the event we still have more than five candidates after the nominations, those with the fewest nominations will engage in a duel. The winner will receive the difference between the votes of the loser and winner of said duel."

Nathan's explanation left many Hufflepuffs confused, but Philip, Nathan was happy to notice, quickly grasped the concept.

"Good idea, normally the Prime chooses their own team but well the circumstances are a little different than normal. So this is fine as well," said Philip, even as his face remained set in a thoughtful manner.

The discussion continued as they ironed out the details before the vote itself happened quickly. In total, seventy-two votes were cast, resulting in a total of nine nominations. This represented a portion of the Hufflepuff House, as fifth-year students were occupied with their OWL exams, and some students chose to abstain from voting altogether.

Nathan ended up with seven votes, with many of his peers in his year backing him, placing him as the candidate with the sixth-highest number of votes. The highest number of votes stood at twelve, while the lowest was three. Nathan was happy to notice that he would get the chance to compete with the no-name idiot who had insulted him earlier.

Nathan hadn't anticipated receiving the extra four votes. He initially expected only the support of his three friends, which was why he had set the minimum requirement at three votes.

Nathan had managed to manipulate the election by structuring the rules in his favour. Indeed, the idea of restricting the age limit for participants hadn't crossed anyone's mind, as it was unexpected for a second-year student to enter the competition where seventh years would be duking it out. Nathan expected that the older years would put a stop to it after the selection today.

Nathan could see Philip giving him a complex look, blending amusement, frustration, and a hint of respect from the side of his vision. He turned and winked at the prefect who shook his head in mirth.

"Gotta say, you really are a sneaky one." Nathan turned his face away from Philip and saw Hestia giving him a smirk.

Nathan gave her a smile, deciding to keep silent. Nathan liked Hestia Jones. She could be annoying and pushy a lot of the time, but there was something so beautiful in how selfish of a person she was. Nathan had never met someone like her in either of his lives.

Hestia's selfishness didn't manifest in a materialistic sense. While she certainly had a love for money, that wasn't why Nathan considered her selfish. To Hestia, only her pleasure and displeasure mattered. She would break rules that she did not like, uncaring of the consequences and, despite her bringing the house points down, her personal relationships were so good that most of the house simply grumbled and did nothing to put a stop to her rule-breaking. Nathan had even seen Flitwick once turning his eye when she broke the magic in the corridors rule in front of him.

"Save that smile for when you're a bit older, Grey," Hestia teased.

Nathan responded with a mock bow and a playful tone, "What can I do for you, Prefect Hestia?"

She lightly smacked the back of his head before asking, "Do you want to participate in the Gauntlet too?" Nathan detected a hint of concern in her voice, reinforcing his belief that Hufflepuffs were some of the kindest people to be friends with.

Nathan nodded, his earlier smile returning as he replied, "I wouldn't have put my name down otherwise."

Hestia's tone took on a mix of anger and worry as she continued, "Do you honestly believe you can win in a duel against a seventh-year? Most of the seventh years join the crafts club too, you know." Nathan recognized that this moment was crucial for him to start building tangible influence within the house and to establish his reputation for the years to come.

He offered her a reassuring nod filled with gratitude.

"You see, Hestia, I've been studying magic since I was a toddler. I can assure you that I'll be a participant in the Gauntlet tomorrow, and I believe I can win today"-'against the entire seventh year if necessary.'

The last line, he said only to himself. He wanted to come off as confident rather than arrogant after all.

Hestia responded with a small smile, and Nathan reciprocated with a smile of his own. What Hestia did not address, however, was the transformation in Nathan's blue eyes, which had become adorned with tiny golden runic engravings as he made his bold declaration.

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[A|N: Did you like the chapter? If you did, comment and drop some powerstones so that others can view this story too. And you can also read ahead at my Pa-atreon- dukeofvirtue

Now some of you have criticised this part of the fic. Many of you have asked me the point of this fight- Why I am showing such childish things and why Nathan needs to involve himself in the silly antics of his friends who are children.

This is how the real world works. Politics isn't about solving some grand problems, most of the time the whole reason for a war between two large religions, groups, communities and ideology is pretty stupid. These fights between two individuals normally spiral out into a massive war because the leaders of both sides want to maintain relevance and they can only do so by fueling the fire.

Nathan couldn't stop the fighting because the Hufflepuffs' loyalty would not allow it. He could not stay out of the fight because maintaining neutrality in such conflicts would be BAD for his social life. From Alan's perspective, Nathan did not want to help him after he was beaten up by the Lions.

And finally and perhaps most importantly, leaders aren't born on whims. Leadership is all about trust. You can be the strongest wizard in the world and the Hufflepuffs wouldn't trust you to lead them because they don't know who you are.

Nathan isn't Harry Potter, he is just a random half-blood(Quarter-blood?) that is good with Magic. If he doesn't try to build up his image from early on, the Puffs won't turn to him for help when the actual war happens.

Hope that clears any problems you all had with the fic. Ciao.