Harry Potter: Fire Lord Black

The flying car story reached the Slytherin common room before the boys who had flown it reached their dormitory. A portrait near the entrance claimed Harry and Ron had struck the Whomping Willow, damaged a valuable tree, and almost exposed magic to half of London. With each retelling, the car crossed another county in view of more Muggles.

Draco enjoyed every version.

"I told you," he said. "They could not arrive normally if a catastrophe was available."

"You guessed trouble," Edward replied. "The car is new information."

"A correct guess should receive some credit."

"Credit for probability, not prophecy."

They settled near the fire with the emblem sketch. Pansy read on the opposite sofa, Crabbe and Goyle divided a box of sweets, and Theodore played chess alone by moving both colours. The setting tempted Draco to begin recruiting immediately.

"Pansy already wants to know what we are doing," he whispered. "We could show her the badge tonight."

"We do not have a badge. We have an untested drawing."

"The drawing is excellent."

"That does not make it a reason to join."

Edward wanted members who could examine the purpose and refuse the glamour surrounding it. A mysterious emblem shown beside a private fire would create the opposite pressure. He suggested observing how their classmates handled ordinary decisions first.

Draco looked toward Crabbe and Goyle. "They are loyal."

"Then include them in things they understand and choose. Do not give them planning duties simply because they agree with you."

"You think they are stupid."

"I think Crabbe notices Quidditch patterns neither of us sees, and Goyle remembers every route through the dungeons. I also think both answer before you finish asking. That makes it our responsibility to check for consent, not a reason to insult them."

Draco glanced at his friends. Goyle had given Crabbe the larger piece of fudge while pretending not to care. Loyalty was present, but it did not belong to Draco as property.

Pansy closed her book. "If you intend to whisper about everyone in the room, learn a Muffliato Charm or speak where we cannot hear."

"We were discussing schoolwork," Draco said.

"Then your schoolwork has a raven, a serpent, and my name written in the margin."

Edward folded the parchment. "It is an unfinished proposal. When it has a clear purpose and no dangerous enchantment, you may read it."

"May I? How generous."

"You may also decline it."

That answer interested her more than Draco's secrecy. She asked when the proposal would be ready. Edward said not before they understood what problem a student group could legitimately address.

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"Safety," Pansy said at once. "The school employs a celebrity who cannot keep dates consistent across his own books."

"That is one problem," Edward agreed.

"House reputation," Draco added. "Potter nearly exposes us, and Slytherin receives the suspicion."

"That is a complaint. What action would our group take?"

Draco had no immediate answer. Pansy suggested recording actual rule violations by house rather than arguing from reputation. Edward wrote it down, along with a reminder that they would need a professor's permission before collecting anything about students.

The conversation remained a discussion, not an invitation. Pansy returned to her book after securing a promise to see the final draft. Theodore said nothing, but his chess game stopped while they spoke.

The next morning, second-year Gryffindors and Slytherins shared Defense Against the Dark Arts. Lockhart's books formed a bright wall across the teacher's desk. A vase of roses stood beside framed portraits of the professor in six different robes.

Harry entered with Ron just before the bell. Both looked tired. Mud remained beneath one of Ron's fingernails despite an obvious attempt to clean it. Draco opened his mouth, but Edward touched the edge of their shared desk.

"Class first."

"I was only going to welcome him."

"Your welcomes usually require medical supervision."

Lockhart swept into the room wearing turquoise robes. He waited beside the door until every face had turned toward him, then crossed to the front as though entering a theatre.

"Good morning. You may know me from my many published encounters with the Dark Arts. By the end of this year, I hope you will know yourselves better as well."

He distributed a questionnaire. The first question asked his favourite colour. The second asked the date of his ideal birthday celebration. Only the final page addressed defensive magic, and most of those questions required quotations from his books.

Hermione wrote quickly. Edward carefully answered only what the text supported and marked two contradictory passages with page numbers. Draco used the margin to sketch Lockhart fleeing a vampire.

When Lockhart collected the papers, he praised Hermione for remembering that lilac was his favourite colour. No credit went to Theodore for identifying a flawed countercurse or to Harry for leaving several personal questions blank.

"Today," Lockhart announced, "we move beyond theory."

He lifted a cloth from a tall cage. Cornish pixies pressed against the bars, bright-eyed and agitated. Several had already bent the wire at one corner.

Edward raised his hand. "Are the cage and classroom warded for release?"

Lockhart smiled. "Confidence is the only ward a capable defender requires, Mr. Black."

"Confidence will not stop them reaching the corridor."

"You will find that my practical method answers such doubts."

It did not answer whether Lockhart possessed a containment plan. Edward checked the nearest windows and saw one latch open. He quietly closed it with a charm. Hermione noticed and secured the other.

Lockhart opened the cage.

The pixies erupted into the room. One seized his wand before he completed the first incantation. Another lifted Neville by both ears. Three attacked the framed portraits, which began shouting contradictory instructions. Students ducked as books, ink, and loose parchment crossed the room.

Lockhart attempted Peskipiksi Pesternomi. Nothing happened.

Draco raised a shield over their desk. A pixie bounced from it and redirected toward Pansy's hair. She struck it with a Cushioning Charm that slowed the creature without injuring it.

Edward drew his wand but did not cast the wide fire net that instinct first suggested. The room held curtains, paper, frightened students, and creatures small enough to be badly burned before he could correct the temperature.

"Use cold bindings," Hermione shouted from the front. "One target at a time."

Her advice was safer. Edward caught the pixie above Pansy with Incarcerous and guided it into the cage. Harry and Ron freed Neville. Theodore closed the classroom door before two creatures could escape.

Lockhart retreated behind his desk, calling the chaos an exercise in initiative.

A pixie pulled the lace from his collar. Draco laughed hard enough to lose his shield.

"Focus," Edward said.

They had contained only four. More than twenty remained loose, and one was already working the window latch Edward had closed.

Edward adjusted his grip. A single spectacular spell might end the scene, but it could also create a second emergency. He divided the room into lanes and chose control over display.

"Draco, shield the door. Pansy, keep them below the chandelier. Hermione, call targets. Everyone else, bind what she marks."

For one second, no one moved. Then Hermione pointed to the nearest cluster.

The improvised response began.

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