Turning to face Crabbe and Goyle, he said in a voice that would not be out of place at Sunday dinner, "You two will stake out Gringotts and I will keep watch in Diagon Alley. Sirius Black was spotted there today and we may get lucky and catch him, or Potter, for our master." Pulling out the note from the Goblin, he handed it over to them and said, "Here is the description of what Black looked like. Look for him because I'm sure that if Potter goes to the bank, he will be disguised as well."
With one last glance at the muggle woman cowering in the corner, Lucius smirked, and said to her absolute horror, "Of course, please finish up with her. I should be ready to depart in half an hour." Her cries of pain and despair were like music to his ears as he headed back up to finish his lunch.
Lunch was just winding down in the Great Hall within Hogwarts. Some students were milling about, chatting with their friends, while others began to head off to do who knows what before they left for the summer.
As Harry, Hermione, the twins, Ginny, and Neville were getting up to leave the hall, Draco Malfoy sauntered over in his normal colored robes with a snarl of disgust on his pale face. Inwardly groaning, Harry wondered if he could ever go a day without interacting with the pompous fool.
Malfoy stepped up to the group of Gryffindors and said in his nasal drawl, "You cheated didn't you, Potter? There is no other explanation for how you managed to win the tournament."
Ginny was about to retort when a raised hand from Harry stilled her tongue. Fuming at Malfoy's slight, she settled for glaring at him while tapping her finger on the handle of her wand.
Slowly moving to the side, Harry positioned himself with his back to the Slytherin Table and putting his friends behind Malfoy. As he was moving, he began stretching out his magical senses, alert for an attack. Smirking, Harry looked back at Malfoy and said simply, "You're jealous, Malfoy." Taking a stab in the dark, Harry guessed, "You're mad that you didn't get picked by the Goblet after you paid an older student to put your name in. It must really brass you off that I won the blasted tournament and I didn't even enter myself."
Malfoy's cheeks began turning red in his anger and embarrassment. Snatching his wand out of his robes, he leveled it at Potter and roared, "Confringo!"
The Blasting Hex rocketed from Draco's wand but Harry had already stepped aside, letting the spell pass by harmlessly. The hex connected with the Slytherin Table with disastrous results. Shards of wood were sent flying in every direction as the hex obliterated the table, wounding a dozen students in the process.
Draco looked on in horror as his spell destroyed the Slytherin House Table. When the screams of his injured housemates reached his ears, he forgot all about the furious wizard in front of him.
Harry had begun pooling his magic the moment he felt Malfoy's spell start to leave his wand. As he sidestepped the lethal hex, he brought his own wand to bear and sent a Binding Jinx at the inbred fool. Ropes shot from the tip of Harry's wand, tightly wrapping around Malfoy causing him to fall over backwards.
Students were screaming while the teachers were rushing towards the injured students to treat the wounded as best as they could. The ghosts flew from the Great Hall to fetch Madam Pomfrey as quickly as possible.
Stepping over to Malfoy, Harry kicked aside the idiot's wand, stunned him, and then turned his attention to the chaos over at the Slytherin Table.
Professor Snape was feverishly attending to Daphne Greengrass. She had been the closest to the blast and her body was riddled with shrapnel from the explosion. Her face was a bloody mess and her right shoulder looked like it had been put through a meat grinder.
As Madam Pomfrey came rushing into the Great Hall, she quickly took stock of the situation. Realizing that Severus would be dealing with the most injured student, she rushed over and began working with him to save the young woman's life.
Silently, Harry watched the scene unfolding in front of him. Malfoy's actions had driven home the point that all wizards and witches were armed and dangerous. He realized that he was going to have to learn how to keep his magical senses attuned at all times, not just when he felt like he was in danger. Shaking his head at the thought of Malfoy actually teaching him something, Harry stepped back over to Hermione and their friends.
Hermione was hugging herself in horror at the spectacle in front of her. She knew Daphne, not well, but they were on semi-friendly terms. When Harry approached her, she threw herself into his arms and whispered in his ear, "Do you think that Daphne will be okay?"
Glancing at the carnage in front of them, Harry's posture slumped and that told her just as much as his reply, "No. I think her arm is really badly damaged and she is definitely going to have a bunch of new scars if she can be healed."
Fred and George had watched the entire confrontation unfold in silence. When Harry had positioned himself with his back to the Slytherin Table, they thought that he was insane. Now, they realized that he did it to protect his friends. Realizing that it could have easily been all of them on the receiving end of that hex made them shudder at the thought.
Silently, George walked over to the entrance to the Great Hall and cancelled the prank from the morning while Fred was undoing the trigger on the benches. They both understood that this was not a time for pranks.
Madam Pomfrey and Severus Snape were working franticly on Miss Greengrass. The young woman had lost a lot of blood and it looked like she was going to lose her arm from the shoulder down if they were going to save her life. Turning her head to her colleague, she whispered, "Severus, I'm going to have to take her arm. The bleeding is too severe to be healed in time to save her life."
Onyx eyes bore into the healer's hazel ones for a moment before Snape whispered in his silky voice, "Do it. I will cauterize the wound when you're done."
Minerva McGonagall had been watching while her co-workers tried to save Daphne's life. When she heard what was being discussed, she conjured privacy partitions and began herding the students out of the area.
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