It had been a few days since the 'incident,' and the mood in the castle had only progressively gotten more... uncomfortable. To say the least.
For one thing the castle's royal, ignorant, highness hadn't deigned to expel the three students caught red-handed- Instead electing to put them through what a certain brunette cousin of mine considered a year's worth of very grueling detentions, personally administered by his two heads of houses, the two involved at that- My own, and Hufflepuffs.
I hadn't been able to tell whether Andy had been sarcastic or not, though she'd made her own displeasure regarding the three Slytherins known. In that she'd essentially convinced the rest of her year, for lack of a better term, to black-list them from any activities whatsoever. Something I hadn't particularly surprised about either.
It was one thing to silently support blood-based racism, it was another to do it publicly in a castle where the ratio numbered heavily against them.
Though in truth, I had a feeling that wasn't the real reason for the uncomfortable spell that had taken over everyone else in the castle- Particularly, because even James Potter seemed to have fallen under it himself. the boy, for the first time ever, genuinely unsure about his friendship with me.
Let it not be said that Orion Black wasn't firmly in my corner, given how quickly he'd acquiesced to what I'd suggested be done about the attack.
I idly turned the page, taking in the continued story written before me.
The headline news of the week at that-
My father, in his aged wisdom, had taken my words to heart... Given he'd, one, suspended the Unspeakable Grant System he'd invested into until a certain Mulciber Snr took responsibility for his son's actions- Which, according to the daily prophet, had resulted in the Unspeakable himself, getting fired from his job. Given his colleagues and superiors hadn't been particularly happy, nor willing to suffer because of him.
I turned the page, ignoring the distraught wizard walking towards me from the other side of the table. The sixth-year utterly lost as his breathing seemed to turn shallower by the second as his palm opened and closed, every eye on the hall on him.
Reaching me, he seemed to freeze for a moment as he simply stared at me, his gaze wavering before-
"...My father had nothing to do with this... That... What happened was between me and-"
"Mulciber, Mulciber, Mulciber." I sighed, looking up to lock gazes with the wizard. "I had nothing-"
"Bullshit! You just admitted to it!" He practically yelled out unhinged. "My-"
"You're ruining my view, and now my hearing," I spoke over him, indifferent. "Are you trying to piss me off?"
He sucked in a breath, uncaring of the eyes on him, as his own eyes narrowed, anger coursing through them. When he opened his mouth to retort, I promptly turned another page, my gaze locked onto him still. "You're wrong regardless. Your father was directly responsible for how you turned out." I sniffed. "Poisoned apples, tend to result in burning trees."
The wizard's eyes twitched, his pupils darting around, almost manically for a moment before it dawned on him that every eye in the hall was-
"This isn't ove-"
"You bit off more than you can chew once already, and daddy got burned for it," I spoke over him again. "Do it again, and the next thing he goes through might involve disowning his firstborn son." I waited for a single beat. "Which in hindsight, might even get him his job back."
I idly turned the daily prophet page again.
"As I said, you're ruining my view. Scram." I calmly remarked, turning my gaze away.
It took him a few more moments of passively trying to burn a hole through my head before he grit his teeth and walked back to his section of the Slytherin table.
The section occupied by his two partners in crime.
One, a half-blood who, considering his family's international ties, had settled for keeping himself quiet and out of view. Almost as if, if he'd done it long enough, the attention would shift away.
Which- Well, as far as anyone else was concerned, might be true...
Mostly because the third one sat between them, a completely despondent, lifeless expression in his eyes, took most of the attention.
And as bad as Mulciber might've had it with his own father losing one of the most sought after career prospects in the market-
It didn't compare to him.
The son of a politician, whose run for the office of Minister of Magic had been cut off at the knees the moment Orion Black had removed the Black families' funding for his campaign.
Of course... as bad as that might've been- My gaze turned towards the right side of the table, zeroing in on a certain blondewizard.
A blonde who, for 'whatever' reason had practically disappeared the day of the attack, only to come back with a limp, a bandaged leg, and a very shitty excuse.
Lucius Malfoy, judging by the expression on his face, genuinely believed he'd gotten away with it-
I hid the surprise and annoyance, at having spoken said thought out loud, on my face as I watched my cousin, Narcissa, promptly turned to her soon-to-be former betrothed with a very sharp and worried expression on her face. Malfoy's own, for a moment, breaking.
I let out a sigh, and promptly got up from my own seat and started walking towards the two blondes- Narcissa's angered expression showing through as her hand visibly shook, her gaze darting between me and Malfoy.
I'd hoped to catch him doing something more- well, damning. But I suppose having to explain to his father why the most powerful family in Britain had decided to blacklist them would be enough punishment. For now.
All the while, Dumbledore's cleardisapproval and disappointment for that matter, followed my every step.
And frankly, nothing else the headmaster could've done or said, would've made me happier.
The man believed in mercy and second chances- And I was fully willing to abuse the fuck out of it.