Consequences Unleashed

Harry and Draco were sitting by the fire in the Gryffindor Common Room one afternoon, playing a game of wizard chess. Draco ordered his knight to take Harry's bishop.

'Check,' he said smugly.

Harry frowned, then had his king step out of danger.

'Very Slytherin of you to sneak out of trouble like that, Black,' Weasley taunted over Harry's shoulder. 'How did you ever get the Sorting Hat to put you in Gryffindor?'

'Sod off, Weasley,' Harry snapped back. 'We don't want to talk to the likes of you.'

'No,' Finnegan joined in. 'I guess with fathers like yours you'll be sticking to your own little junior Death Eaters club.'

'Shut up, Finnegan,' Draco growled, his jaw clenched. 'You've no idea what you're talking about.'

Weasley laughed maliciously. 'Was that a bit too close to home, Malfoy? We've heard some very interesting rumours lately. Tell me: how does it feel to have your dad run out on you so suddenly? Is he on an important mission for his master?'

Draco stood up and glared at Weasley, his hand creeping towards his wand.

'I'm warning you, Weasley,' he said. 'Leave us alone.'

'It's a pity he didn't take you with him,' Finnegan said. 'Didn't he want you, or were you too much of a coward to join up with You-Know-Who?'

There was a blast from Draco's wand, and Finnegan soared across the Common Room, slamming into the wall on the opposite side. Weasley drew his own wand and tried to hex Draco, but Harry blocked it just in time. Soon several other students joined in the fight, and all hell broke loose. The Weasley twins, Dean, Lee and the Quidditch team were on the side of Harry and Draco, whilst several others took the part of Weasley and Finnegan. Most everyone else stood around the sides of the room to watch how things played out and cheer on their friends, but Percy Weasley slipped quietly out of the room through the door.

.....

Remus Lupin was sitting contentedly in a comfy armchair beside the warm fire in his office, marking essays. He was exceptionally delighted with the work of his fourth-year Hufflepuffs. They had been far behind the other Houses at the beginning of term, but their work ethic and a bit of extra attention had caught them up admirably. He was so caught up in his excitement that he barely noticed the loud rap on his door.

'Come in,' he called out, not even bothering to look up from the essay he was reading.

'Professor Lupin,' Percy Weasley said urgently. 'Come quick. A fight's broken out back in Gryffindor Tower.'

Remus looked up at the sixth-year prefect. 'A duel?'

Percy shook his head. 'More like a war.'

Remus groaned and lifted himself out of the chair. Years of painful transformations had left his joints in far worse condition than they ought to have been in a thirty-two-year-old man. He winced at the pain and followed after the Weasley boy.

The sight that greeted him when he stepped into the Common Room left him utterly flabbergasted. Every piece of furniture in the room had been smashed to smithereens. Torn tapestries lay trampled on the floor, and at least a dozen of his Gryffindors didn't look much better, lying on the stone floor, nursing their cuts and bruises. The only ones left standing were Harry and Draco – Of course, Remus thought. I should have known at once. – the Weasley twins and Angelina Johnson. The eyes of everyone in the room seemed to be focussed on Draco, and Draco himself was gazing in shock at Ronald Weasley, who was shivering pitifully on the floor.

'What the devil's going on here?' Remus demanded.

'Malfoy used the Cruciatus Curse on Ron!' Lavender Brown shouted from the stairs.

'Shut up, you stupid cow!' Harry shot back. 'You wouldn't know the Cruciatus Curse from a Cheering Charm.'

'He did so,' Parvati Patil joined in. 'Everyone was duelling normally, and then Ron cried out in pain and fell to the floor. Look at him: he's still shivering.'

There was a sudden uproar in response to that. Soon everyone in the room seemed to be shouting at everyone else.

'Silencio,' Remus whispered, and the Gryffindors fell silent. 'Now,' he continued in a quiet voice, 'is there any neutral observer who can tell me what happened here from the beginning?'

Hermione Granger stepped forward and raised her hand. Remus flicked his wand and she was once again able to speak.

'I saw how it started, Professor,' she said. 'Aries and Draco were playing a game of chess by themselves when Ron and Seamus came over and started teasing them about their fathers.'

Remus could feel the wolf stirring inside him at that news. He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down.

'I see,' he said tightly. 'Carry on, Miss Granger.'

'Anyway, words led to spells,' she said, 'and soon other people were joining in the fight. At first it seemed like a fairly friendly fight – you know, the Jelly-Legs Jinx and such – but things got nasty quick: there were Cutting Curses and Bone-Breaking Curses. Finally, Draco cast a curse on Weasley that made him cry out in terrible pain and fall to the floor.'

'Was it the Cruciatus?' Remus asked evenly.

Hermione shook her head, and Remus breathed a sigh of relief.

'I didn't recognise the incantation he used,' Hermione said. 'But I know it wasn't the Cruciatus Curse.'

'Do you remember what the incantation was?' Remus pressed.

Hermione looked like she was straining very hard to think.

'I'm not sure, sir,' she said. 'Mag-nah-doy-oh, maybe?'

Remus's heart sank. It might not have technically been the Cruciatus, but if Draco had cast Harry's new-and-improved version, it was just as bad.

'Thank you, Hermione,' he said. 'Take five points for telling me what happened.'

He turned to address the rest of the Gryffindors.

'I am very disappointed in you,' he said. 'Your House is supposed to be like your family here at Hogwarts. It's not right for you all to be fighting with one another. I am taking three hundred points from Gryffindor for this little incident, and there will be a week of detention for everyone involved in the fight. I never want to hear of anything like this ever again. Do I make myself clear?'

The students nodded shamefacedly.

'Good,' Remus replied. 'Prefects, I want you to see that the wounded get safely to the infirmary, and then set about cleaning up this mess. Messrs Malfoy and Black, please come with me.'

Harry and Draco followed Remus out of the room. The professor lifted the Silencing Charm just before the portrait closed shut, but the Gryffindors remained as quiet as the grave.

.....

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