Just as Avada had expected, the moment Baron said he was a Slytherin, the atmosphere in the room turned cold. Ron's smile became painfully forced, and Harry scratched his head, unsure what to make of it. There was no helping it—they'd only just spent the past few days being thoroughly disgusted by Slytherin, and their natural goodwill toward the house had nearly vanished.
Baron seemed to want to ask something, but before he could get a word in, Ron casually offered a few parting words and dragged Harry away. Hagrid watched them part on bad terms, utterly bewildered, and couldn't figure out what had happened.
"They've only been at school for two weeks, haven't they? Why do they have such a problem with Slytherin?" Baron asked, frowning in confusion. "And Potter and Weasley are both from pure-blood families. Those nasty people shouldn't have any reason to target them. Could it be that they have a Muggle-born friend who's being picked on?"
"Why not ask Draco? They're in the same year, so he should know something about it."
Avada had no qualms about throwing Malfoy, whom he'd met a few times, under the bus.
"Yeah, that could work." Baron didn't think for a moment that Lucius's son would go out of his way to bother the Chosen One who'd killed Voldemort. He simply wanted to confirm what was going on with Malfoy.
As for what would happen once Baron learned the truth, Avada had no idea for now. He'd only heard that Baron later went to see Harry and Neville, but Baron hadn't told him exactly what had happened...
Over the next month or so, everything went as usual, apart from Baron seeming to be in a bad mood. Voldemort's mental-power analysis progressed steadily; Avada also visited the Diricawls at the