Ramifications

Harry let some of his aura and magic flare outwards and it was an effective deterrent against anyone who had the mind to mock Riddle.

He knew that he shouldn't poke his nose into something that wasn't his business in the first place.

However, when he had raised his head at the commotion and had seen those obsidian pupils widened in apparent mortification and the telltale sign of someone looking for a way out because they knew they would be subjected to cruel words, he couldn't help but voice those words.

The panic in those eyes had reminded him of a timid little boy who had lived in perpetual terror of his own blood relatives and how he had been ever ready to defend himself against unprovoked beatings and harsh rebuttals.

At that moment, he had made a choice - a choice between shielding someone who was feeling familiar helpless anger and humiliation or ignoring the said boy and proving himself to be as heartless as the adults in his own life had been.

However, it was only when the silence had gone on for too long that Harry belatedly realised that his words had also made another unintended choice on his part.

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Everyone in Slytherin had known that Abraxas had taken Tom Riddle under his wing since that 'Tergo' fiasco since last year.

The mudblood had been under 'protection' and thus his abuse was never taken far - only some verbal jeers and not being included into any cliques.

However, they had all been savvy enough to keep it within the limits of the Slytherin House and never where Malfoy or his allies could catch them.

This social faux-pas could have given them a chance to deride the boy who enjoyed such an unprecedented position - being roommates with Heir Black and enjoying the company of Malfoy - a family name that resounded everywhere in The British Isles.

But before anyone could make any snide comments except give sardonic smiles, the words from Heir Black had forced them to swallow those words unsaid.

All the more, with those words, Heir Black had definitely made a play for the position of Slytherin King in his second year.

If Malfoy had been the one to shield Riddle's shortcoming, they would have all taken it as him helping Riddle out of the situation, but for Heir Black to go over Heir Malfoy's head and speak those words in defence of another in front of the whole house was clearly a declaration that the other boy had just joined the race for The Slytherin King.

Otherwise, the politically inclined Black who always kept his word to a minimum wouldn't have interfered in this - just like other times when he had watched his peers make a fool of themselves.

When Harry realised the true ramifications of his words, it was already too late for him to take back his words and everyone had already turned back their attention to other conversation and their food.

Cursing himself a fool for being impatient, when he raised his head, he saw the same knowledge shinning in his cousins' eyes.

Though he didn't regret helping Riddle, but when he saw the worry in Abraxas' eyes, he felt a twinge of an uncomfortable feeling in his heart.

Harry had known that his cousin had already decided to try and rule Slytherin in his fifth year - after all, by that time Malfoy would have gone through his fourth magical maturity and consolidated his power base among his peers and juniors.

However, with his defence of a person who was clearly under Malfoy protection, he had derailed all those meticulous plans to the curb.

It was a complete nightmare!

When he tried to speak above the rising lump in his throat, Abraxas gave him a faint smile and softly added, "Eat your fill and don't think too much right now. We can talk about it later."

With a remorseful gaze, Harry turned to eat his own food but it tasted like ash in his mouth and he once again lamented the fact that this cursed day never went his way and always spelt trouble for him.

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Tom had always prided himself on his situational awareness and it hadn't escaped his notice early on during the feast that Malfoy had been looking for someone - his constantly roaming eyes that checked the length and breadth of The Great Hall - even discreetly, had been a dead give away.

However, he hadn't realised that the other boy had been searching for Black.

He had watched silently as Malfoy had somehow brightened up at one point and when he had followed the said person's gaze, he had seen the advancing figure of Heir Black coming towards their seats.

Tom had also watched with fascination the silent byplay between the two Heirs and how Malfoy had filled Black's plate full of food with practised ease and he had wondered about how the two of them could trust each other to the extent of even understanding the slight rise of eyebrows and minuscules tilts of heads.

He didn't know why but that scene had pricked him and he had felt uncommonly vexed at the sight of it all.

His magic that had already been turbulent throughout the day, had turned even more agitated and violent.

In an exercise of extreme self-control, Tom had redirected his magic towards the glass he had in his hand than to let his magic rush forth towards Malfoy and cause the other boy harm.

That would have been unhealthy for his continued wellbeing as it would have been considered as an unprovoked attack on a pureblood Heir and Tom didn't want himself to be embroiled in such disputes when he didn't have anyone or anything to shield himself from the backlash.

He had hastily erected a shield to contain the resulting explosion of liquid and glass but the consequent sneers from the nearby Slytherins had really tested his patience and endurance.

He knew that all of them were just waiting to pull him down from his imagined perch and couldn't wait to metaphorically feast upon the shreds of his self-esteem.

He had been careful enough to not provide them with such an opportunity but this would give them a new way to attack him and they would even be justified in their actions.

Just as he was thinking of ways to extract himself from the situation, Heir Black had dissolved the whole situation with a few well-placed words.

Tom was cognizant of the fact that not only had the words helped him out of a fix, they had also helped raise his position in The Slytherin Hierarchy and he was thankful to Hier Black.

Before he could thank the said person, he saw Black and Malfoy talking to each other in hushed whispers and felt his mood dampen once again inexplicably.