Old Grudges

Knock, knock, knock!

Someone knocked on the door to the Potions office. Snape, who had been grading essays behind his desk, set down the parchment in his hand. Urged by the rapid knocking, he opened the wooden office door and looked in surprise at the student standing outside. He frowned almost imperceptibly. "Mr. Malfoy, what happened to your face?"

"Professor, we saw Potter's ghost in Hogsmeade Village!" Malfoy cried in terror.

"Come in and tell me." Snape stepped aside to let the three of them into the office. "If you cannot calm down for the moment, I have Calming Draught here."

"We were talking to Weasley on the outskirts of Hogsmeade Village when a huge lump of mud suddenly struck the backs of all three of our heads..."

Malfoy took a deep breath and began recounting how he had seen Harry Potter's head floating in midair in Hogsmeade Village, as well as how he had apparently been hit by a Trip Jinx on the way back to Hogwarts and fallen, scraping his cheek.

"I already know about this. You had better go to the Hospital Wing and have your injuries treated first, unless you want scars!"

Snape gestured for them to leave. He intended to find Potter. According to Malfoy, Potter had clearly sneaked off to Hogsmeade Village.

Sure enough, that boy was just as unruly as his father.

Watching Snape's retreating figure stride away, Malfoy's lips curled into a cold, triumphant sneer. Harry Potter would definitely be punished for this. That boy was not permitted to visit Hogsmeade Village.

In fact, Malfoy had already figured everything out on the road back to Hogwarts Castle.

The journey of nearly an hour had been enough for him to calm down completely and think through the causes and consequences of everything.

He