Slipfang

Teddy walked back to his room as if in a fog. He didn't feel relieved. Although the possibility that he might not actually be expelled was finally sinking in, he didn't feel as if he'd gotten away with anything. He was sure Harry and his grandmother were going to be more than disappointed in him. He didn't even care what punishment he might receive in lieu of expulsion.

Ironically, something else was bothering him. It had been nagging at him since even before he went into the Headmistress's office, and now that it seemed he might actually have escaped falling victim to the Zero Toleration Policy, it was bothering him more.

In his room, he ignored the wizard in the portrait, who was demanding to be turned back around, and took out the Marauder's Map and unfolded it.

Most students were in their classrooms. The school day wasn't over yet, and normally, Teddy would be in Potions class. Right now, that was the last place he wanted to be, though he noticed with a frown that Professor Slughorn was still in his office, and the dot at the front of the Potions classroom, before the assembled Gryffindor and Slytherin first-years, was labeled “Ophilia Karait.”

“What's she doing there?” he muttered, but at the moment, he didn't really care. Instead, he looked down in the dungeons. He saw Geoffrey Montague, alone in what Teddy presumed was his room. He wondered if Geoffrey were packing his things, preparing to return home. To whom? Teddy didn't know anything about Montague's family. He didn't even know whether his Death Eater father was still alive, possibly in Azkaban.

But expelling Geoffrey wasn't right.

“I must be crazy,” he muttered.

“Well, talking to yourself isn't a good sign!” grumbled a muted voice from the side of the portrait that was pressed against the wall.

Teddy was tempted to tell the wizard to shut up. He understood respecting one's elders, but there was a limit to how much guff he willing to take from a portrait. Then he noticed another dot moving around in the dungeons. He had already spotted Argus Filch on the fourth floor. The caretaker was everywhere now, no doubt eager to catch as many students as possible doing things that would get them expelled. Teddy stared at the new dot, and at the strange name beneath it.

“Slipfang?” he read aloud.

“What?” demanded the wizard in the portrait.

Teddy ignored him, and watched the dot. It moved through the maze of corridors around the Slytherin area, and up the stairs into the Entrance Hall. Teddy watched for a good twenty minutes as “Slipfang” went up to the Entrance Hall, edged along the walls and walked partway into the Great Hall, then doubled back, went up to the first floor, walked into Professor Binns's (currently empty) classroom and stood there for a minute or two, then backtracked and proceeded down the corridor to the Hospital Wing. There, Teddy saw only Madame Pomfrey and two students, Sabrina Collins and Deana Forte. Sabrina he recognized as a Gryffindor second-year who'd been complaining of a headache at breakfast. Deana he didn't know, but she appeared to be in a bed in the infirmary, judging from her location... and the dot labeled “Slipfang” was closing in on her.

Teddy sprang to his feet and ran to the door, but as he threw it open to dash out, he almost ran into Danny Boyle.

“You're wanted in the Headmistress's office now,” said the Prefect, clearly annoyed at having to fetch Teddy again, and then he shouted, “Hey! Lupin!” as Teddy ran past him and out of Gryffindor Tower.

He arrived in the Hospital Wing minutes later, breathing heavily. He passed Sabrina, who looked at him in surprise, and ran into the infirmary. Deana was lying in bed, and Teddy recognized the pudgy girl with curly dark hair and glasses now as a Ravenclaw first-year. She'd been in all his double-classes with Ravenclaw, and he'd probably heard her name before; he just hadn't bothered to remember it.

“Are you all right?” he asked, panting as he reached her bedside. She stared up at him.

“Well, Madame Pomfrey said it will take a few hours for my finger bones to grow back,” she said, holding up fingers that flopped limply, and wincing. “The backfire could have been worse, though it does rather hurt a lot. But thank you for asking!” She looked startled, flustered, confused, and oddly pleased. “I certainly didn't expect you'd be so concerned about –”

“Do you have your wand?” Teddy interrupted her.

Her eyes widened. “My wand?” She began fumbling frantically for her jacket, hanging on a bedpost. She couldn't grab it because of her boneless fingers, and the attempt caused tears of pain to well up in her eyes. Teddy grabbed it for her and laid it across her lap, and when she only hurt herself more trying to get to the pockets, he reached into them for her. They were empty.

“My wand was in my jacket pocket!” she exclaimed. Her voice rose in a panic. “It's gone! My wand has been stolen!”

“Mr. Lupin, what's going on here? You haven't been hexed again, have you?” Madame Pomfrey demanded sharply, having come up behind him. But Teddy ran out of the infirmary, ignoring Pomfrey's indignant exclamations and Deana's cries, and as soon as he was out of sight of both of them, he unfolded the Marauder's Map and looked for “Slipfang.” But there was no sign of the mysterious intruder, not anywhere between the first floor and the dungeons, and nowhere else he could see as he scanned the other floors as well.

He did see that both Neville Longbottom and Mair Llewellyn were in the Headmistress's office, so he folded the map and tucked it into his pocket, and ran back up to the seventh floor.

“Margawse,” he said to the gargoyle guarding the entrance to the Headmistress's office, and he was already dashing through the opening to the stairs before it had moved completely aside.

At the top of the stairs, he barely waited for Llewellyn to say, “Come in!” after he knocked, before he opened the door and charged inside. It was only when he ran headlong into the Headmistress's furious glare, and an even more ominous, stormy expression from Longbottom, that he stumbled to a halt, and gasped for breath.

“Mr. Lupin,” said Professor Llewellyn. “How nice of you to pay us a visit. I do hope it wasn't too much of an inconvenience? Or was Mr. Boyle unable to find you for some reason?”

He swallowed, and the words that started to tumble out of him died on his tongue.

“No, ma'am,” he gasped. “He found me all right.”

“And obviously, you're quite capable of moving quickly when it suits you,” Llewellyn said dryly, as Teddy sucked in a few deep breaths and stood up straight. “Well, there's enough reason to expel you even without the Zero Toleration Policy, but after speaking to Professor Slughorn, I am given to understand that you're not a thief, merely a misguided teller of tall tales with exceptionally poor judgment.”

Desperate as he was to tell the two adults about Slipfang, the Headmistress's tone and icy stare, combined with Longbottom's look of deep, deep disappointment and anger, paralyzed Teddy more effectively than any potion.

“Professor Longbottom has argued most passionately on your behalf, and so, against my better judgment, and perhaps his, now,” she added, glancing at the Head of Gryffindor, “I'm putting you on probation. You will serve detention, every evening for at least a month. Professor Longbottom and I will decide at the end of that time whether or not to extend it. Any further infractions, and you will be expelled. Do you understand, Mr. Lupin?”

He gulped and nodded.

She nodded, and said, “You may leave.” She looked down at some papers on her desk.

“Ma'am,” said Teddy. Her head snapped back up to look at him.

“Was Geoffrey Montague expelled?” he asked.

Professor Longbottom's cheeks were starting to turn red. Professor Llewellyn stared at him, and said, “That's not your concern.”

“Ma'am, it's not fair expelling him for having a photograph of his father! It's not like he was displaying it for –”

“I don't know why you think I'm interested in the slightest in entertaining your opinion on the matter, Mr. Lupin,” the Headmistress said in a steely tone, “but I think Professor Longbottom had better remove you from my sight, now.”

Longbottom didn't even say anything, he just put a hand on Teddy's shoulder and steered him towards the door. He didn't grab Teddy or yank him, but his grip was firm and implacable.

“There's something else –” Teddy started to say, and now Longbottom did squeeze his shoulder, almost hard enough to hurt, cutting him off as they exited the office.

On the stairs, Longbottom didn't even look at him as they descended. Teddy took a breath and tried again. “Professor Longbottom, I know you're really angry and I understand,” he said in a rush, “but this is really important –”

“Angry, Teddy?” Longbottom said. His voice was deceptively quiet. They stepped out into the corridor, and saw two Hufflepuff students coming towards them. Longbottom gave them a look that made them turn around and walk the other way, and then he looked down at Teddy. Neville Longbottom didn't look angry, but Teddy suddenly wished he did. He wished the man would explode in rage and scream at him and call him names, rather than look at him the way he was looking at him now.

“I can't even describe what I feel right now,” Longbottom said. “Angry, shocked, disappointed, ashamed, appalled, and that still doesn't cover it. Do you know I just spent half an hour talking Professor Llewellyn out of expelling you, because technically you had not violated the Zero Toleration Policy, and we're already expelling far too many students who don't deserve it? Do you know that I even made the very same argument on behalf of Geoffrey Montague, and that by sharing an unsolicited piece of your mind with her, one moment after she had just given you an undeserved second chance, you completely undermined every word I said to her? Do you know that I argued on your behalf, when I wouldn't have done nearly so much for any other student, because of my respect for Harry, and my respect for your father? I just put all of my credibility on the line with the Headmistress for you, and you walked in late, disrespectful, and ungrateful, and made me look like a proper fool.”

Teddy was still trying to force words out, but they wouldn't come.

“I can't help you anymore, Teddy,” Longbottom said. “Not beyond my normal role as your House Head. I've tried to be understanding, I've tried to be sympathetic. I know you came here with a lot of expectations, and feeling like you had some big shoes to fill. I even feel a certain affinity for you. You know I also lost my parents to Death Eaters, and was raised by a very demanding grandmother.” He shook his head. “I so wanted to see myself or Harry or Remus in you. But so far you've demonstrated appalling judgment, irresponsibility, a bad temper, and very little common sense. And your academic performance is nothing to write home about either.”

He paused, while Teddy stood there, too shocked to respond.

“You have a lot of growing up to do,” Longbottom said, very slowly. “I don't want you to think this means I don't like you, Teddy. You're young, and I can see that you've got a good heart. But it's not enough just have good intentions. You need to think more about what you're doing, and less about what other people think. Do you understand?”

Teddy nodded.

“You'll report to Filch for detention tonight,” Longbottom said. “And every night until I say otherwise. I can't think of a thing to do with you, myself.”

Teddy wouldn't have thought it was possible to not get expelled and yet feel worse, but he did now. Longbottom had almost walked away when Teddy finally regained his voice.

“Professor Longbottom!” he shouted. Longbottom stopped, and turned very slowly in his direction, as if he couldn't quite believe Teddy was actually calling him.

It took more courage than it had taken to go repeatedly down into the Slytherin dungeons, but Harry had told him to tell Neville, and this was important. He had to grow up and be responsible. He ran to catch up to Longbottom again.

“Someone named Slipfang is stealing wands!” Teddy said, when he was close enough again to speak without yelling.

Longbottom's ire turned to confusion. Teddy told him about the Marauder's Map, and seeing Slipfang, and his arriving in the infirmary too late to prevent Deana Forte's wand from being stolen. Longbottom had been in Llewellyn's office and hadn't even heard about the latest wand theft.

When he was done, the Gryffindor Head pursed his lips. “So you still have the Marauder's Map,” he said.

Teddy nodded. “Are you going to take it away?” he mumbled anxiously.

Longbottom stared at him for a long time.

“I'm going to talk to Harry,” he said at last. “You should have gone straight to a teacher, not down into the infirmary to try to stop this Slipfang yourself.”

Teddy bowed his head. “Yes, sir.” Except that he couldn't have told another teacher about Slipfang without explaining about the Marauder's Map. Neville, it seemed, already knew about it.

“What did I tell you about good intentions and appalling judgment?”

Teddy nodded.

“If you see Slipfang on the map again, come to me, immediately.”

“Yes, sir.”

Longbottom now reversed direction, and walked quickly back towards the Headmistress's office. He didn't say anything more to Teddy. Teddy assumed he was dismissed, and that he was being allowed to keep the map, for now. So, still weighed down by a confusing cloud of emotions, he returned to his room.

The word spread throughout the school, not only that another wand had been stolen, but that Teddy Lupin had been on the scene, and knew something about the thief. Tensions were high again. No wands had been stolen since before Christmas. Among the students who had stayed at Hogwarts over the holidays, there had been a very high degree of watchfulness, and the staff had implemented many of the security measures the Headmistress had referred to, which they thought until now had succeeded in foiling the thief. Either that or the thief had been among the students who'd gone home for the holidays.

Teddy wasn't quite sure what to say to the students who pressed him for information. Professor Longbottom had not told him to keep it a secret; on the other hand, there was no way to explain how he'd been at Deana Forte's side the moment her wand was stolen without either making something up, or telling more people about the Marauder's Map, and Teddy didn't much like either idea.

“I thought I saw someone skulking about in the Hospital Wing, and I followed,” was the explanation he settled on. This didn't satisfy everyone, but Teddy remained vague and insisted he hadn't seen anything more than that, no matter how much he was pressed for more details. Since he was one of the students who had encountered the thief the first time, his explanation was at least consistent. And, he thought to himself, it was true as far as it went, as well. His fellow Gryffindors began to debate what sort of Disillusionment Charm or other magic might have been used.

Thanks to the detention he served that night, he didn't have to face his friends until the following day. Dewey was the first to question him, during Charms class. Teddy filled him in quickly about Slipfang and the Marauder's Map, but didn't talk about his meeting with the Headmistress.

“What kind of a name is Slipfang?” mused Dewey. “Sounds like a werewolf!”

“A werewolf, sneaking into Hogwarts and stealing wands?” Teddy asked incredulously.

“Does seem unlikely,” Dewey admitted.

“Five points from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff,” said Professor Flitwick. “Less talking and more flicking and swishing, gentlemen.”

Teddy and Dewey both grimaced, and resumed flicking and swishing their wands. Dewey really wanted to talk to Teddy about the idea he and Mercy had, but there was no opportunity to continue the conversation in Flitwick's class.

In Transfiguration class, Teddy sat next to Kai and told him about the Map and the mysterious Slipfang.

“Werewolf? Rubbish! That's a goblin name!” whispered Kai confidently.

“How do you know?” Teddy whispered back. “You an expert on goblins now?”

“It sounds goblin!” Kai insisted.

“Mr. Lupin, Mr. Chang,” said Professor Peasegood, who was looking particularly out of sorts this morning. “Ten points from Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, and if I hear you talking in my class again, you'll both get detention.”

There was a collective intake of breath, as everyone stared at Teddy and Kai. Professor Peasegood rarely took off more than five points, and almost never threatened detention. Kai looked cowed. Teddy kept silent for the rest of class, not wanting to find out what would happen if he were assigned detention on top of detention. “Expelled, probably,” he thought.

In Herbology, Teddy barely spoke. They were transferring some of the wandwood saplings into a greenhouse. He was paired with Violet again, who noted Teddy's moody silence, and didn't say anything at first. She watched Teddy watching Professor Longbottom, who passed by the pair, glanced at their sapling, nodded, and moved on.

“What's wrong?” she whispered at last. Herbology was one of the few classes where talking was generally allowed. The only reason most of the other students weren't talking was that Professor Longbottom had once again paired Gryffindors with Slytherins. None of the other pairs wanted to chat, and between the Zero Toleration Policy and the absence of Geoffrey Montague, the Slytherins didn't even feel like baiting their Gryffindor classmates.

“Professor Longbottom hates me, I almost got expelled, I've got detention from now until forever, and I know who's stealing wands, except not really,” Teddy murmured.

Violet blinked.

“Again, please, with more explanation and less self-pity?” she said.

He looked up at her sharply. She looked back at him, unfazed.

“It's a bit much to explain in the present environment,” he muttered, gesturing at Nero Velenos, who was only a few feet away.

“Tonight, then.”

“Tonight I have detention.”

She frowned. “Just what did you do?”

“No worse than what Geoffrey did, I'll bet!” Nero snarled, in a low voice. “Except Geoffrey wasn't lucky enough to be Longbottom's favorite!”

Teddy looked at Nero, and felt blood rushing to his face. Where did the idea that he was Longbottom's favorite come from, anyway? They'd all seen him punished the same as Geoffrey for their fight. But he stifled his first reaction, and said instead, “You're right. I think Geoffrey got shafted.”

Nero looked surprised. So did Violet, though chiefly at Teddy's vulgarity.

The Slytherin boy backed off, as Longbottom wandered closer, possibly having noticed the two of them exchanging words. After the professor had moved away again, Violet said, “We really need to talk,” still looking at him oddly.

“Before dinner, Room of Requirement,” Teddy whispered. “You tell Kai in your next class, I'll tell Dewey.”

She nodded. “All right.” Then she and Teddy brushed past Chloe, who stood stock still, tensing up as she always did in Violet's proximity, though the smaller Slytherin girl had not given any indication she was even aware of Chloe's existence since the end of October.

Teddy, Dewey, Kai, and Violet all made their way to the seventh floor that afternoon, after classes ended for the day. The Room of Requirement, however, would not let them in. They passed three times in front of the section of wall opposite the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy, and then three more times, and the door still didn't appear.

“Maybe it's those security measures Professor Llewellyn talked about,” Dewey suggested. “She got rid of the Room somehow.”

“It's been here forever, and Harry said it's part of the castle,” Teddy replied. “I doubt Llewellyn could get rid of it even if she wanted to. Assuming she even knows about it.”

The four of them fell silent as the door suddenly appeared, and in the next moment, Mortimer Thickwaite and Clarice Darcy stumbled out, arm in arm and giggling. Their expressions changed when they saw the four first-years.

“What are you staring at?” snarled Mortimer.

“Don't you have anyone better to hang around with?” Clarice sneered at Violet.

The four youngsters didn't reply, just watched as the two older Slytherins disappeared down the corridor.

“What were they doing in there?” Teddy grumbled.

Violet stared at him with an unreadable expression.

“What?” he demanded.

The corner of her mouth twitched. She shook her head. “Let's see if we can enter now.”

With the previous occupants gone, the Room of Requirement was now willing to admit them, and they found themselves in the cozy meeting room that had been behind the door on their previous visits.

“All right, spill it, mate,” said Dewey, sitting down opposite Teddy. “What happened when you told Longbottom and Llewellyn about Slipfang?”

“Can we see the map?” asked Kai eagerly.

“Why were you almost expelled?” Violet asked, and that cut Kai and Dewey short. They both stared at him.

Teddy gave Violet an annoyed look, but he knew his friends would be asking him eventually why he was doing detention every night. So, reluctantly, not meeting anyone's eyes, he told them about the Paralyzing Potion, and how he had almost been expelled for theft, and how his sentence had been changed when Professor Slughorn told the Headmistress that he hadn't actually stolen the potion. He left out Slughorn's attempted interrogation over tea, and his dressing down by Professor Longbottom, but he told them everything else.

Kai, Dewey, and Violet were all silent for a while after Teddy finished. Violet was the first to speak.

“Teddy,” she said. “You really are a fool.”

Teddy scowled at her, but her worried look drained much of his indignation away.

“That wasn't very bright,” Dewey agreed.

“Paralyzing Potion? Are you completely insane?” exclaimed Kai. “You could have stuck your face in one shape forever!”

“And telling the Headmistress that you stole it –” said Violet.

“Yes, thank you, I believe I've heard quite enough about what a fool I am!” Teddy snapped. Really, he'd been hearing nothing but that for the past day, and he hadn't even heard from Harry or his grandmother yet.

His three friends fell silent again, and then Dewey said, “We're just worried, mate. You slip up one more time and they really will expel you!”

“I think I realize that, thanks,” Teddy replied, his voice thick with sarcasm.

“There's nothing wrong with being a metamorphmagus,” said Kai. “You should tell your roommates to sod off if they don't like the faces you make at night! What are they doing staring at you while you sleep anyway?”

“Can we please move on?” Teddy growled.

That silenced them again, until Violet said, “Kai is right, Slipfang sounds like a goblin name to me.”

“I still say it sounds like a werewolf. Or a giant. Or maybe a troll,” said Dewey.

“Right, and a werewolf or a giant or a troll in an invisibility cloak is so much more likely,” Violet replied, in an exceptionally dry tone.

“All right, supposing it's a goblin, why is a goblin stealing wands?” Teddy asked.

“They've always resented it that we forbid them to have wands,” said Dewey. “It's been a major cause of friction between the goblin and wizard communities for centuries. Some of the biggest goblin uprisings were over wand restrictions.” And when the other three looked at him, he said, “What? Don't you ever pay attention in Professor Binns's class?”

“Uh, no,” said Teddy.

“Not really,” said Kai. “Just what's going to be on the test.”

Violet rolled her eyes, and said, “So that's our theory? A goblin in an invisibility cloak is stealing wands, and doing what with them, exactly?”

“Why are we worrying about this?” Dewey asked. “The professors know about Slipfang now. They'll do something, I reckon.”

“You mean you aren't curious?” Kai demanded, sounding almost offended.

“Well, of course I am,” said Dewey, “but I don't see what we can do about it.”

“We can catch him the next time he pops up on Teddy's map!” Kai said enthusiastically.

“Or she,” said Violet. “The thief could be a girl goblin.”

“Named 'Slipfang'?” Kai snorted.

“How do you know what sort of names female goblins have?” Violet retorted.

“How about the map, then?” Dewey asked. “Can we see it?”

Teddy frowned. “Harry said I shouldn't be showing it off to everyone.”

“Well, we're not everyone! It's not like you're spreading it out on the table in the Great Hall,” said Kai.

Reluctantly at first, but more willingly as his friends pressed closer, with even Violet looking curious, Teddy unfolded the map and spread it on the table.

“Bloody brilliant!” whispered Kai. “Look, you can see everyone in Hogwarts! There's Connor and Colleen, and there's Gilbert, and there's Professor Flitwick, and blimey, you can even see Professor Llewellyn in her office!”

“Yes, I can see it's very effective for spying on people,” Violet said.

“Or avoiding Filch!” said Kai, pointing a finger at the caretaker's dot, stalking after a pair of students on the third floor. “You'll never get caught being where you shouldn't be so long as you have this, Teddy!”

“Are you actually encouraging him to get into more mischief?” demanded Violet.

“No, just saying,” Kai mumbled, his voice trailing off as Violet scowled at him.

“I can't see us,” said Dewey. And it was true; as they all searched the seventh floor, there was no sign of the Room of Requirement, and no dots representing themselves.

“Huh,” said Teddy. “Must be something about the Room.”

“I don't see any Slipfang,” Dewey went on. “How do you reckon a goblin, or whatever Slipfang is, would get into Hogwarts anyway? Especially with Sneakoscopes and Secrecy Sensors and the like all over the place?”

“Hah, knew you wanted to catch him too!” Kai said smugly.

“Or her,” Violet said.

“I first saw Slipfang in the dungeons,” said Teddy.

Violet frowned.

“I wasn't suggesting Slytherins have anything to do with it!” Teddy added hastily. “Maybe he – or she – entered through the dungeons somehow.”

“Slipfang could have entered anywhere, and the dungeons are where he – all right, bloody he-she-it!” grumbled Kai, in exasperation, as Violet just sniffed. “– happened to be when you looked at the map. Hey, look! Are those secret tunnels?” Kai grew excited again as he pointed out passageways leading from several different floors of the castle, each of them going off the map, in the direction of Hogsmeade.

“Yeah, there are a few of them,” Teddy muttered. Harry, Uncle Ron, and Uncle George had mentioned the secret passageways to Hogsmeade many times, always followed by Aunt Hermione warning Teddy not to use them. Kai now gave Teddy an indignant look, offended that he had never mentioned such interesting and useful information before.

“Well, obviously that's how Slipfang's been getting in and out!” Kai exclaimed.

“Oh, obviously!” said Violet sarcastically.

“I'll bet the staff has put Secrecy Sensors there,” said Dewey.

“Harry said even Filch doesn't know all of the secret passageways, and he's been here forever,” said Teddy.

The four of them fell silent then, each lost in thought as they stared at the map, watching the dots representing staff and students moving about the castle. Finally, Dewey cleared his throat.

“So, while we're here, there's another matter I was hoping to talk to you all about.” Teddy and Kai and Violet looked at him, and feeling a little self-conscious about his very Hufflepuffish idea, Dewey nonetheless plunged ahead, and told them about how he and Mercy wanted to invite first-years from all the houses to socialize together. He cited the same advantages he had discussed with Mercy, and then his voice trailed off while he waited nervously for his friends' reactions.

Kai, who had already heard Dewey's proposal, said, “I think it's a nice idea in theory, mate, but how are you going to talk any Slytherins – besides Violet – into joining a club that doesn't benefit them any?”

“How are you going to talk anyone into joining a club that doesn't benefit them?” Violet shot back.

“Well, I was hoping you three might have some ideas, instead of just telling me it's stupid and it won't work!” Dewey said crossly.

Kai and Violet both looked a little apologetic at that, but Teddy spoke up.

“I know what will get Slytherins to come,” he said.

Everyone looked at him expectantly.

“Tell them we're trying to get Geoffrey Montague un-expelled!” Teddy declared.

Now the other three stared at him. If Teddy had started turning into a werewolf before their eyes, they couldn't have been more shocked.

“Umm, what now?” Dewey said, when he finally found his voice. He was sure he hadn't heard that correctly.

“Are we talking about the same Geoffrey Montague you tried to kill in Herbology class?” asked Kai.

“I wasn't trying to kill him,” Teddy protested, but not entirely convincingly. He wasn't actually sure what had been going through his head during his fight with Geoffrey.

Violet looked no less shocked than anyone else. “You want to... overturn... Geoffrey's expulsion,” she repeated slowly, in disbelief.

“Yes!” Teddy said. “It wasn't fair!” And as they all continued staring at him, he went on. “He got expelled for having a photograph of his father! It's all he's got of his dad. It's not his fault his father was a Death Eater, or that his father had a Dark Mark! It's not as if he was waving it around or showing off his own Mark! It would be one thing if he were actually bragging about his father being a follower of Voldemort, or showing off Dark Marks like they were something to be proud of, but do you really think he deserved being expelled for keeping a picture of his dad?”

“No,” said Violet. “I don't.” She was still staring at Teddy.

Kai and Dewey looked at each other.

“Well...” said Kai.

“I deserve to be expelled more than he does!” Teddy said.

“I can't argue with that,” said Violet. And as Kai and Dewey glared at her, she protested, “I'm not saying I want Teddy expelled!”

Teddy looked at Kai. “I had to do detention with Guy Blake. Didn't he bring some kind of Muggle weapon to school? A pistil or something like that?”

“Yeah,” said Kai. “But he wasn't intending to hurt anyone with it! He was just curious about how it worked. He's the only Ravenclaw who's sitting for an O.W.L. in Muggle Studies this year.”

“Maybe his intentions weren't bad,” said Teddy, and he suddenly fancied he could hear Professor Longbottom speaking instead of himself. “But how much sense does it make that he only got detention for having something that could have killed someone, and other kids got expelled for stuff that's not even dangerous?”

“Well, if you put it like that...” Kai muttered, reluctantly.

“Depends what you mean by dangerous,” Dewey murmured. “But I see your point.”

Violet was still staring at Teddy, but her shock and disbelief were being replaced by something else. She was looking at him with something like admiration.

“I think,” she said quietly, “that the other Slytherins would be very interested in hearing you say that, Teddy. But I don't see how it will do any good. Professor Llewellyn isn't going to change the Zero Toleration Policy just because a bunch of first-years think it's unfair.”

“Maybe not,” Teddy agreed. “But it will give us something to talk about, at least. And who knows–” And for the first time since he'd arrived back at Hogwarts, a Teddy-like grin spread across his face. “Maybe someone will actually come up with an idea?”

“What about the other houses?” asked Kai. “I really don't think too many non-Slytherins are going to rally around poor Geoffrey Montague.”

“But every house has had someone expelled who probably shouldn't have been,” said Teddy. “And not only that, but I figure I'll tell everyone who comes about Slipfang too. Spread the word that we're going to tell them what the professors won't about the wand-thief!”

Everyone stared at Teddy, who was clearly on a mission again.

“So we're going to start our own little subversive secret society, huh?” Kai asked. And then he smiled too. “Count me in!” He looked at Violet, and said, “Don't tell me that Slytherins won't be up for a bit of subversion and anti-administration agitation?”

She gave Kai a narrow look, and then, slowly, smiled. “I think they might.”

Dewey was looking from one to the other of his friends, mouth open. This was not at all what he and Mercy had had in mind! But when they turned to him, he stammered for a moment, and then sighed.

“All right,” he said with a shrug. And then managed a smile of his own. “I reckon even Hufflepuffs can be subversive for the right cause.”