"So that was Mr. Goyle." Professor McGonagall nodded and made her decision on the spot.
"It's quite clear what happened. Malfoy started the duel, then played a trick by informing Filch. He was too much of a coward to show up himself, and tricked Potter and Weasley into sneaking around after curfew."
No one said a word. Professor McGonagall looked at Snape, waiting for him to speak.
Snape took a deep breath and said through gritted teeth, "Professor McGonagall, announce the punishments. I have no objections."
"Good." Professor McGonagall didn't waste time. "Potter and Weasley broke the rules by sneaking around after curfew. They will each lose fifty points. Starting next week, they will spend every evening in my office detention for one week."
At that, Ron's legs gave way, and he almost collapsed. Luckily, Harry caught him.
The two of them wailed inwardly: A hundred points! They hadn't even earned a fraction of that since the start of term, and now it was all gone in one fell swoop. Gryffindor's points column was probably about to be empty.
Snape should have been pleased, but he had a bad feeling about this. If McGonagall was this harsh with her own students, she certainly wouldn't go easy on Malfoy.
Sure enough, Professor McGonagall's next words dealt him a fatal blow.
"Mr. Malfoy, although you didn't sneak around after curfew, you broke the rules by starting a duel without permission and deceiving your classmates."
"To preserve your family's good name, I'll tell everyone that you and Crabbe were also involved in sneaking around after curfew."
"Therefore, Slytherin will lose a hundred points, and you two will serve detention in Professor Snape's office."
Professor McGonagall looked over the group. "I'm finished. Does anyone have any objections?"
No one dared object. They filed out of the little room, looking thoroughly dejected. Only Snape remained behind, suffering a crushing blow. He'd lost on every front.
At lunchtime, the whole Great Hall erupted. Gryffindor's points column was nearly empty.
Slytherin had also lost half its points, and anyone with eyes could tell something was amiss.
Professor McGonagall simply announced the reasons for the deductions in front of the entire school.
Although she didn't mention the duel at all and only said they had broken curfew, the young witches and wizards understood perfectly well. They gossiped about it all the same.
Malfoy's cowardice was now beyond dispute.
He'd not only disgraced his family, but also cost Slytherin a hundred points, throwing away their earlier lead.
The Slytherin students looked at him with open hostility. No one wanted to talk to him anymore.
He was thoroughly ostracized. Only Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy Parkinson were still willing to speak to him.
Gryffindor, meanwhile, had lost a hundred points, and everyone was heartbroken.
But when they thought about dragging Slytherin down with them, they were all pretty happy. What did losing a few points matter, as long as Slytherin was in trouble?
Besides, when had Gryffindor ever lacked a reason to lose points? It made no difference whether they lost them sooner or later.
Tom was the happiest of all. Ravenclaw had now taken first place, with Slytherin far behind. Surely Snape would finally realize how important he was.
Sure enough, at Friday's Potions Class, Snape was no longer cold toward him as usual. He kept asking Tom questions, turning the lesson into a quiz contest between the two of them.
Tom answered every question with ease, and Snape took the opportunity to award points to Slytherin. He didn't give them many, but there were plenty of questions.
Every so often, he tossed a question to Longbottom, Finnigan, and the others, but they either couldn't answer or gave replies that had nothing to do with the question.
Snape naturally had an excuse not to award Gryffindor any points, and he was so pleased he could practically feel bubbles rising inside him.
When the bell rang, Tom and Snape exchanged a glance—and both of them actually smiled.
It was the first time such a harmonious scene had occurred since the start of term at Hogwarts.
But the very next second, Snape wiped the smile from his face and went back to his usual icy, deathly expression. He gathered his books and hurried out of the classroom, as though everyone had imagined that smile.
Snape was conflicted, too. Having a student like Tom really did make things easier. He knew a lot, caught on quickly, and always trusted Snape without question.
He was a hundred times better than that idiot Malfoy. But the fact that he was Tom Riddle made Snape deeply uncomfortable.
Elsewhere, Hermione was complaining to Tom, her little face scrunched up.
"It's so unfair! You answered twenty questions in one lesson, and I only answered two—and I got one of them wrong. One point up, one point down, and I've gained nothing. Snape is so biased!"
Tom was in a good mood, so he shot back without thinking, "Then go argue with Snape about it."
Hermione puffed out her cheeks like a little hamster, looking aggrieved but not daring to get angry. Go argue with Snape?
She might as well be asking to get more points deducted—or be kept behind to copy the school rules a hundred times.
Daphne watched Hermione get shot down and laughed so hard she could barely contain herself.
Hermione glared at her, and Daphne glared right back.
The two little witches had never gotten along. Every time they met, they bickered, though luckily they only dared to trade words and never actually fought.
That baby-faced glare had no bite to it. If anything, it was rather cute.
Tom couldn't be bothered with them and waved a hand. "Stop bickering. Want to go have afternoon tea together?"
"Yes!" the two little witches chorused, instantly forgetting their spat.
"Then let's go to the courtyard. The weather isn't too cold yet, so we can get some fresh air outside. Before long, we probably won't even want to step out of the castle."
Tom led the way. Hermione and Daphne followed behind him, chatting and laughing. No one noticed Malfoy in a corner behind them, watching with venom in his eyes.
This had been the darkest week of Malfoy's life.
It was bad enough that students from the other houses mocked him, but even his own housemates had ostracized him.
To make things worse, some bigmouth had told his family. His father had sent him a letter, cursing him out so viciously that he'd practically invented new ways to swear.
Watching Tom bask in success, with pretty girls at his side and three roommates trailing after him, Malfoy finally snapped.
Why? Why could a Mudblood, a Muggle-born like Tom, have such a good life at Hogwarts?
And why did he, the young master of the great Malfoy family, have to endure everyone pointing fingers at him, with only that ugly girl Pansy—who made him lose his appetite—by his side?
He swore to himself that Tom was his sworn enemy, not just Harry and Ron.
If he could just take Tom down, he'd get his dignity back, and all those people who had ostracized him would surely flock around him again.
Malfoy's eyes shifted as he leaned close to Goyle's ear and muttered under his breath, "Goyle, listen. Here's what we'll do..."
On Friday evening in the Slytherin Common Room, most of the students were slacking off, either munching on snacks or chatting about gossip.
Only Tom and Daphne had gathered in a corner to play Gobstones, with half a bag of Honeydukes sweets piled beside them.
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