Breeze's Whereabouts

Hermione straightened up. She wasn't hurt; she was just sniffling tearfully.

"I'm sorry. I thought I could handle the Troll. I'd read about them in books and knew a lot about them..."

Hermione was lying. She didn't want to tell the truth, because that would get Ron and Harry punished. She didn't want that. By the time Harry and Ron had come to rescue her, she'd already decided they were decent people.

"If Harry and Ron hadn't come, I might be dead by now. Please punish me; they're innocent. And Breeze—I'm really worried about him. You need to find him quickly."

"That's not what you should be worrying about right now." McGonagall frowned at that. Though she didn't entirely believe Hermione, Breeze's safety mattered too... Well, perhaps McGonagall trusted that Breeze could look after himself, but they still had to find him.

"Professor Snape," McGonagall said. "Breeze Order is one of your students. I need to deal with these disobedient children. Could you go check Slytherin? Perhaps he's already returned. If not, please look for him."

"Hmph." Snape nodded. He didn't particularly like the talented little fellow, who had no interest in making Potions, but he couldn't simply ignore him. Breeze was a Slytherin, after all.

Snape shot Quirrell a cold glance, then strode out of the bathroom. He'd suspected Quirrell was behind this all day, but Dumbledore had still let him get away with it.

Only after Snape had left did McGonagall look over the children and say thoughtfully, "If that's really what happened... You foolish child, how could you think you could take on a mountain-sized Troll by yourself?"

"Thirty points from Gryffindor."

"I hope I'm right to trust you. I'll let you off detention for now."

Hermione pressed her lips together and said nothing, quietly accepting the punishment.

Then McGonagall turned to the uneasy Harry and Ron, and the well-behaved Cedric.

"Ten points to each of you. Now return to your common rooms. I need to speak with Dumbledore."

"Professor Quirrell, I'll leave the Troll to you."

"Oh, o-of course, Professor McGonagall. I can, can handle it."

Just as McGonagall's business was wrapping up, a serious problem arose in Slytherin.

"Can anyone tell me where Breeze Order is?"

"Prefects, go out and find him. I'll punish him when he's back."

The prefects exchanged glances. How could they find Breeze? They all knew why he wasn't in the common room, and it looked like they couldn't keep it under wraps any longer.

Malfoy said nothing. He knew Breeze might be in the Owlery, but he wasn't stupid. Speaking up wouldn't do him any good; it would only cause trouble.

There weren't any first-year prefects, so this had nothing to do with him.

"Hmm?" Snape narrowed his eyes and coldly surveyed each prefect's face, his gaze finally settling on Malfoy.

"Speak. What happened?"

Called out, Malfoy sighed inwardly. He didn't dare go against Snape. His father had already agreed to buy him a new broom, though getting the House a new set would have to wait until next year. That depended on his grades.

Malfoy recounted the whole story: the older students had targeted Breeze, thrown his things out of the dormitory, and then been beaten by Breeze. He didn't embellish anything. It wasn't as though he were Breeze's enemy.

Seeing this, Millicent was torn. After a struggle with herself, she summoned the courage to say, "Professor Snape, Breeze Order is the victim. Some people have bullied him for a long time, saying he's a Muggle-born and doesn't belong in Slytherin... But Breeze has always earned points for the House. He did so even after leaving the Slytherin common room."

"Oh?"

Snape looked at Millicent. The other prefects glanced at her, seemingly surprised she would speak up for Breeze. But none of that mattered now. No one could change Snape's mind.

"Muggle-born?" Snape frowned deeply, then suddenly laughed.

"You really think he's Muggle-born?" Snape stared into each prefect's eyes, seeing their hesitation and guilt. "It seems you've made up your minds, yet still chose the wrong way to deal with it. Fools!"

"Slytherin has become the laughingstock of the school, and I, your Head of House, was kept in the dark. Well done..."

The temperature around them plummeted, and even Malfoy shivered.

Snape was angry!

"Your eyes are wasted on you! Could none of you be bothered to look through your families' books?"

The purple glow in Breeze's black hair was practically spilling out, and his pure-black eyes were well known to many. Yet these young wizards still hadn't understood.

"You should have asked the adults in your families whether powerful wizards ever display unusual traits. Oh, never mind. Those adults of yours are fools too."

"Let me explain it to you Fluxweed. Anything unusual in the Wizarding World must be treated with caution. Perhaps few have ever seen it, but when Breeze Order arrived at the school, some learned professors recognized that he had powerful magical potential. Such magic could only come from someone descended from two powerful wizards."

"Muggle-born? That's what you should call yourselves!"

"Stay here until I find Breeze Order!"

Snape turned and left the common room. He soon made his way to Dumbledore's office, where McGonagall and Professor Sprout were already present. Snape had no intention of covering for anyone and told them directly what had happened to Breeze.

"Oh, poor child!"

Professor Sprout looked distressed. "I can't imagine how young Order has endured this for over a month. He often comes to the greenhouse to help me care for the plants. He's such a kind child. I had no idea he was being bullied by his own House."

Professor McGonagall clenched her fists too.

"This is unbelievable. Nothing like this has ever happened at Hogwarts. Order shouldn't have been treated this way!"

Dumbledore frowned too. What worried him most was what Breeze might be thinking.

"I won't cover for Slytherin. But Breeze Order has always worked hard to earn points for the House. I think there are other ways to deal with them."

McGonagall let go of her desire to take points. They couldn't undermine Breeze's efforts over this; that wouldn't be fair. Taking points wasn't the goal. It was only a way to better manage the students.

"Dumbledore, I think we could make an exception. Let him change Houses, perhaps!"

Professor McGonagall fixed Dumbledore with a determined look. If Slytherin didn't welcome Breeze, then he had every right to change Houses. As she saw it, Breeze was nothing like the Slytherins. He had a few schemes of his own, but he wasn't driven by self-interest. He still had a special kind of kindness.

"Yes, I agree with Professor McGonagall. Breeze Order would suit Hufflepuff perfectly. All the little Badgers like him, and so do the house-elves. He's a regular in the kitchen, and he likes plants."

McGonagall abruptly glared at Sprout, who was going on and on to Dumbledore about how Breeze was like a little Badger. Since when had she said Breeze belonged in Hufflepuff?

McGonagall thought hard. "I think Mr. Order would suit Gryffindor too. He... he has the courage to stand up to authority. He even left the common room to face life in the House on his own."

Snape said nothing at the two Heads of House's suggestions and looked to Dumbledore instead.

Dumbledore smiled, his eyes narrowing. "Oh, don't get so worked up. Every child has a character of their own; they aren't defined by just one trait. Besides, Breeze Order's love of learning is what he's best known for..."

Dumbledore's eyes flickered as he looked at the two female professors, who had suddenly fallen silent.

"Ahem, of course... But I was sorted into Gryffindor myself. Loving to study isn't a reason to choose Ravenclaw." When McGonagall had been sorted, she'd sat on the stool for several minutes while the Sorting Hat debated whether to place her in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw.

"That's right. Every House has students who love to study. Cedric is top of the year," Sprout added.

Then Snape drawled coldly, "As Breeze Order's 'current' Head of House, I believe I'm entitled to speak."

"Of course, Severus. You have every right," Dumbledore said.

"The priority is to find Breeze Order. As for the House he belongs in, that has been the Sorting Hat's responsibility for a thousand years."

Snape was being very direct. He meant that the Sorting Hat had placed Breeze in Slytherin, so he must possess the qualities of a Slytherin, whether in character or otherwise. There had to be a reason.

"Of course." Dumbledore looked at the portraits hanging on the walls of the Headmaster's Office. They had been left behind by former headmasters and headmistresses. Their spirits lived on in the portraits.

"Could you tell me where Breeze Order went? He's the child Fawkes took such a liking to."

No one at Hogwarts knew more than the portraits, especially when it came to gossip.

"Oh, I'll have to ask the other portraits." A kindly-looking woman in one of the frames spoke. "I think the Fat Lady would know."

"Oh, good. Please bring her here, Dilys," Dumbledore said with a smile. Many people knew that the Fat Lady on the Gryffindor common room door loved to gossip.

Soon, the Fat Lady arrived in the portrait belonging to Headmistress Dilys Derwent. Her plump figure left Dilys no room to appear, so Dilys had to squeeze into another portrait to listen.

"Oh, this is my first time here." The Fat Lady looked around carefully. "Is there something you need, Headmaster Dumbledore?"

"Oh, please tell us what you know about Breeze Order. We're looking for him. He's the Slytherin with black hair and pure-black eyes. I'm sure you know who he is."

"Of... of course. This child even threatened some of the other portraits. Hahaha, he's quite a character." The Fat Lady said in an affected voice, "Don't tell anyone about this, or I'll burn you all!"

"He said that over a month ago, when it had only been a week since term began. His eyes looked a little red at the time. I wonder if he'd been bullied."

"Later, we found out he was a pretty good child. It's just that he got a little too close to those twins. Otherwise, he wouldn't have threatened the portraits like that."

Clearly, the Fat Lady still held a grudge against those twins.

Dumbledore smiled. "Oh, of course. But we need to know where he is now. The other amusing stories are the students' secrets, and we don't want to pry."

"Oh, I see. I remember the Flower Seller said she often saw him on the east side of the seventh floor, in the mornings and evenings."

Finding the draft to upload startled me. I thought I'd accidentally deleted this chapter.