Parseltongue at the Dueling Club (5)

Draco looked at them, the sneer at the corner of his mouth deepening. He straightened up and adjusted his robes, as if wrapping up a performance that had taken little effort. "You think you're noble? Brave? Just?" He laughed, and the smile was cold. "You're just a pack of pathetic fools who don't even know what they're afraid of."

He turned and walked back to his seat, his black robes brushing against Harry before disappearing. Cass followed behind him, his steps as slow as ever, his expression as indifferent as ever. He stopped as he passed Harry and gave him a look.

Those gray-green eyes rested on Harry for a moment before he turned and walked away.

Lockhart clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention back. "All right, all right, just a little interlude. It seems that Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Palaiologos have demonstrated exceedingly precise control over their spells, as well as some unique... talent." His voice was as cheerful as ever, as though this were an entirely trivial matter. "That concludes today's lesson. Your homework is an essay on the combined application of basic spells, no less than two feet long. Class dismissed."

The students began packing up, but no one spoke. They filed out quietly. Every now and then, someone looked back at Harry, their expressions complicated. Someone murmured something, only to have the person beside them tug on their sleeve and silence them. The Gryffindor students left quickly, as though fleeing from something.

The Ravenclaw students moved more slowly. Some looked back, while others lowered their heads to flip through their notebooks, but all of them had their ears pricked. The Slytherin students left with the most composure, departing in twos and threes with expressions that said, "We knew it all along."

Only Harry, Ron, Hermione, and