How It Happened

Among the four Houses, Hufflepuff girls were the most timid. Everyone knew they were easy to bully. If she was also unfortunate enough to be a Muggle-born with no connections in the wizarding world, then to pure-bloods, she was a ready-made target.

Before carrying out the plan, Pomona needed to figure out one thing: why had Nancy Puatier been bullied by Bellatrix Black into dropping out?

Everyone had their taboos. Boys did not like being called cowards or losers. Girls did not like being called ugly. Some wizards did not like being called Dark wizards. Nancy had been born in the Muggle world and knew little of the wizarding world's taboos. If she could not control her mouth and had accidentally offended Bella, then being taught a lesson was partly her own fault. For all of Hufflepuff to go to war with Slytherin just to vent her anger would only intensify the conflict and create an irreparable situation.

Dropping out did not mean she could not return. Pomona could still ask Dumbledore to let her come back and continue her studies. But if Bella had bullied her, then they had to retaliate.

Enduring was for the sake of revenge. Even a cornered rabbit would bite, let alone a person.

"Angie!"

Pomona found Hufflepuff's female prefect at the entrance to the Potions classroom. Mealtime had long since passed, and lunch break was nearly over. The more advanced the potion, the longer it took to brew, which was why Potions classes came in double periods.

"Oh, Professor Martin, what can I do for you?"

Angie was teasing her too. Hufflepuff was well-informed, and the news that Pomona would become a professor at eleven had already spread throughout the House.

"I have something to ask you." She pulled Angie aside. "Can you tell me why Nancy dropped out?"

Angie's smile faded.

"That isn't something you should know."

"Why? Because I'm a professor?"

"No. How old do you think you are? You're only eleven!" The female prefect wore a stern expression that was rare for her. "The Head of House and the headmaster aren't here right now. Who do you think can keep you safe?"

"There is safety in numbers. As long as we stand together, no one will dare provoke us. Besides, don't you think it's humiliating to let boys handle a conflict between girls?"

"Then what is your plan?"

Pomona lifted a cage woven from vines and opened its lid. "Do you know what this is?"

"Soft-clawed Crayfish?" Angie looked up at Pomona strangely.

"That's right." Pomona shut the lid again. "Two points to Hufflepuff."

Angie laughed. "You want to use those to get revenge on Slytherin? Their danger rating is only three stars. Any spell can drive them back."

"Today, two Slytherin students used the Unforgivable Curses to torture a House-elf," Pomona said coldly. "I believe they will cooperate with us to carry out this plan."

The smile vanished from Angie's face. After a long moment, she lowered her voice solemnly. "You mean..."

"They can't eat food prepared by others while slandering the people who cooked it for them," Pomona said coldly. "Some people are unwelcome guests. Until they remember their manners, they won't be able to enjoy Hogwarts' food in peace. That is my plan. Are you in, Angie?"

Angie looked Pomona over from head to toe, then suddenly curled her lips into a meaningful smile. "And what identity are you speaking in right now? Professor or student?"

"A Hufflepuff. I take pride in Hufflepuff's honor, and shame in Hufflepuff's disgrace."

"Oh, sweetheart, why has Pete never introduced you to us?" Angie hugged Pomona as though she had encountered some fluffy mascot.

"Let go of me!" Pomona broke free from her arms. Angie's soft breasts had nearly suffocated her.

Angie Diggory led her out of the dungeons. Only after making sure there were no Slytherins nearby did she quietly tell Pomona the whole story.

"Do you know Lucius Malfoy? Looks-wise, he is absolutely flawless. That fool Nancy was always sneaking looks at him, and Bella's group noticed. They pretended to be Malfoy and asked her to meet them on the second floor. You know, the place where Myrtle was killed. Nancy didn't know about that. She went there happily, and then Bella, who had been waiting for her, locked her in a toilet stall for the entire night."

Pomona's breath caught. "Didn't anyone notice someone was missing?"

"The winter holiday was starting the next day, and a lot of people had left early. We thought she had left too," Angie said quietly. "Later, her roommate noticed that all her luggage was still there, and only then did we realize something was wrong. By the time we found her, she was so frightened she was nearly insane."

The wizarding world could overturn everything Muggles considered common sense. Pomona believed that if she were suddenly thrown into a Muggle school, she would not perform much better than Eddie Watt. Moreover, Myrtle's death had been bizarre and terrifying. Like Nancy, she had been Muggle-born. Perhaps Nancy had thought she would become the next person to die in that washroom.

Being trapped for an entire night in a dark, damp little stall, never knowing when a monster might appear, was terrifying just to imagine.

"Didn't she call for help?"

"She did, but no one heard her." Angie's expression was blank. "Pringle rarely patrolled that area."

In Pomona's opinion, what Bellatrix Black had done was truly shameless. Yet the root of the matter was that Nancy had been too foolish. She had thought a pure-blood aristocrat like Malfoy would fall for a Muggle girl like her.

Muggles had fairy tales too. There was one called Cinderella. Perhaps Nancy had believed that gaining the power of a fairy godmother had made her Cinderella too, and had overestimated herself enough to think the prince would love her.

"Bella likes Malfoy too?"

"No. She goes around proclaiming herself the Dark Lord's most loyal servant. She has already been conquered by a man old enough to be her father." Angie sneered. "She taught Nancy a lesson because she thought Nancy was delusional. During the winter holiday, she spread the story throughout the entire aristocratic social circle. Not only Hogwarts students, but even adults knew about it. In the second week after the holiday, Nancy dropped out."

Pomona had never imagined a person could be so vicious. Lucius Malfoy was a shining golden boy. Who knew how many pure-blood girls were lining up to marry him? Just as girls envied beautiful girls, boys envied boys more outstanding than themselves. They would not pick up "bones others had already gnawed clean." With such a scandal hanging over her, even if Nancy graduated from Hogwarts, she would not be able to establish herself in the wizarding world, much less marry. If she could not find work and could not possibly find a husband to support her, where else could she go but back to the Muggle world?

"Alright, that's how it happened. Hand it over, and you can go!" Angie snatched the cage from Pomona's hand. "Leave the rest to us older girls, first-year."

"Aren't you afraid of offending them, Angie?" Pomona lowered her voice.

"We have no choice, Pomona," Angie said with absolute calm. "If we don't defend our own honor, Hufflepuff will be seen by graduates of the other Houses as a House that produces foolish girls. Besides, I also think bringing boys into this will only worsen the conflict. To keep things from escalating, the best way is to handle it ourselves."

"Alright, then. Be careful."

"Pretend you don't know anything, dear." Before Pomona left, Angie smiled as she held the cage. "This is our secret, understand?"

Pomona nodded solemnly, then disappeared down the long corridor.