While Thomas and his friends were enjoying their lunch, the same couldn't be said for Hogwart's newest celebrity, Harry Potter. Harry had never believed he would meet a boy he hated more than Dudley, but that was before he met Draco Malfoy. Still, first-year Gryffindors only had Potions with the Slytherins, so he didn't have to put up with Malfoy much. Or at least, they didn't until they spotted a notice pinned up in the Gryffindor common room earlier this morning. Flying lessons would be starting on Thursday – and Gryffindor and Slytherin would be learning together.
For Harry and Ron, their next class would be hell, and just as they were trying to find a reason not to go to that class, a barn owl brought Neville a small package from his grandmother. The boy opened it excitedly and showed them a glass ball the size of a large marble, which seemed to be full of white smoke.
"It's a Remembrall!" he explained. "Gran knows I forget things and this tells you if there's something you've forgotten to do. Look, you hold it tight like this, and if it turns red …" His face fell because the Remembrall had suddenly glowed scarlet, "… you've forgotten something …"
Neville was trying to remember what he'd forgotten when Draco Malfoy, who was passing the Gryffindor table, snatched the Remembrall out of his hand.
Harry and Ron jumped to their feet. They were half hoping for a reason to fight Malfoy when they saw that the blonde boy had his two loyal followers after him.
Malfoy smirked as he held the Remembrall up high, taunting Neville. "What's the matter, Longbottom? Can't remember what you've forgotten?" he jeered.
Harry and Ron couldn't stand to watch Malfoy torment Neville any longer. They stepped forward to defend their friend, but Malfoy wasn't going to back down that easily. "What's it to you, Potter? Don't tell me you're defending this useless lump."
"Leave him alone, Malfoy," Harry said firmly.
Malfoy snorted. "Or what, Potter? You going to cast a spell on me?"
Harry's temper flared. "I might if you don't give Neville back his Remembrall."
Malfoy raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? And what spell are you going to use?"
Harry glared at him, searching his mind for a spell that would work. He knew he had to be careful, as they were in the Great Hall with other students around them. He couldn't risk getting in trouble with the teachers.
But before Harry could even utter a single word, Malfoy started mocking him again. "Come on then, Potter! Show me what you've got!"
Ron stepped in. "Leave him alone, Malfoy! You're just a big bully!"
Malfoy turned his attention to Ron, smirking. "And what are you going to do, Weasley? Cry?"
Ron's face turned red with anger. "I'll show you who's crying!" he shouted, reaching for his wand.
As Ron's spell misfired and hit the Ravenclaw table, Thomas and his friends jumped up in shock, covered in purple feathers. James, who had been standing with his back to the Gryffindor table, turned around to see what had happened and was mortified to find that his robe had been turned bright pink.
"What the bloody hell is going on here?" James exclaimed, looking around in confusion.
Ron and Harry quickly realized what had happened and tried to explain, but before they could say anything, Draco Malfoy took the opportunity to make fun of the Ravenclaws.
"Looks like Gryffindor can't even cast a simple spell without hitting the wrong target," Malfoy sneered. "And now the Ravenclaws look like a bunch of ridiculous birds."
At first, Thomas didn't want to interfere since everyone had heard what Ron had just said, but now that Malfoy had insulted them, Thomas and his friends were not about to let Malfoy get away with this. They stood up and started calling Malfoy names, angry at the way he was belittling them.
"Shut your mouth, Malfoy! You're the main reason behind this!" Thomas shouted.
Malfoy turned to face the group of Ravenclaws, a look of amusement on his face. "Oh, look who decided to speak up. The Ravenclaws finally found their voice."
He sneered, looking at Thomas. "But what can we expect from a bunch of bookworms and know-it-alls? You're all a bunch of losers, really."
Adam stepped forward, his face turning red with anger. "We may be bookworms, but at least we have some intelligence. Something you clearly lack, Malfoy."
Malfoy laughed, his cold grey eyes darting between Thomas and his friends. "Please Wood, you having intelligence? Is that what you call it? It seems to me that all you lot do is study and memorize useless facts. Your entire house is just a bunch of boring, uptight losers who can't even have a bit of fun."
Michael stepped up next, his voice shaking with anger. "And what would you know about having fun? All you ever do is bully people and act like a spoiled brat."
Draco's face twisted into a sneer. "Bully people? I think you've got me confused with someone else. I'm simply pointing out the obvious. Gryffindors can't cast spells properly and Ravenclaws are just a bunch of ridiculous birds."
James, who had been quiet up until now, trying to keep himself from beating the daylight out of the spoiled brat, couldn't hold back any longer.
"You know, Malfoy, it's easy to insult people from the safety of your high horse. But when it comes down to it, you're nothing but a coward. A bloody coward that only knows to hide behind his daddy's balls like a fucking pussy!"
Malfoy's face turned red with rage. "How dare you speak to me like that, you little twerp! I'll show you who's the coward!" He raised his wand and pointed it at James, ready to attack the boy.
Thomas stepped forward again, his voice calm and steady, while his wand was tightly held in his right hand, ready to defend his friend.
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"You know what, Malfoy? We don't need to stoop to your level. We have something you'll never have - respect. Respect from our peers and from ourselves. You can insult us all you want, but it doesn't change the fact that we're better than you, and that's something money can't buy," Thomas added with a smug smile, knowing that it was the ultimate insult to Malfoy's ego, courtesy of learning more about the world he had just walked into.
Malfoy glared at them, his fists clenched at his sides. "You'll regret crossing me, Ravenclaws. I promise you that. Once my father hears about this he will destroy all of your families !"
As soon as the Slytherin threatened to harm their families, the other Ravenclaws couldn't contain their anger any longer. They stood up from their seats, their wands at the ready, and advanced toward Draco and his two goons. The looks on the three boys' faces were those of pure terror, as they realized they had underestimated the wrath of the Ravenclaws.
Seeing that for the first time in years, the quiet Ravenclaws took action, the Gryffindors quickly jumped from their seats joining the Ravenclaws as they aimed their wands toward the Slytherin trio. Hermione, who had been watching from the sidelines, pulled Thomas's sleeve, trying to defuse the seemly impending fight.
"Tom, please, we can't start a fight here," Hermione, said, her voice firm but gentle, though there was a hint of fear in it. "Fighting and name-calling won't solve anything."
But neither did Thomas and his nor did the Ravenclaws and Gryffindors back down. They had been insulted and they were going to defend themselves.
"It's not about fighting, Hermione," Thomas said. "It's about standing up for ourselves and our house. We won't let Malfoy and his goons bully us."
All of the students that got ready to fight nodded in agreement, impressed by Thomas's bravery and determination.
Just as the tension in the Great Hall reached its peak and a fight between three houses was about to happen, Professor McGonagall arrived on the scene. She looked around at the chaos and raised an eyebrow.
"What is going on here?" she demanded.
The students fell silent, realizing that they had been caught. Professor McGonagall listened as both sides tried to explain what had happened. When she had heard enough, she gave a stern look to the group of students standing in front of her.
"Enough of this foolishness," she said. "I will not tolerate any more fighting or name-calling in my school. You will all apologize to each other and learn to get along."
"Malfoy, Potter, and Weasley, you three come with me. The rest of you, put your wands away and go back to your lunch," she ordered sternly.
The students grumbled, but they knew better than to argue with Professor McGonagall. They reluctantly apologized to each other and went back to their respective tables. The tension in the Great Hall dissipated as the students settled down to finish their lunch. Thought that didn't stop them from throwing each other glares.
As they ate, the Gryffindors couldn't help but feel grateful for the Ravenclaws' show of bravery. They had always known that the Ravenclaws were intelligent and clever, but now they knew that they were also brave and loyal. It was a lesson that they would never forget any time soon.
Once she saw that the tension dissipate to the point where none of the students were aiming wands at each other, Harry, Ron, and Malfoy followed her out of the Great Hall, the other students grumbling behind them. They were led to Professor McGonagall's office, where they were scolded for their behavior.
"This is not how we conduct ourselves at Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall said firmly. "Fighting and using magic against each other is not the way to solve problems. You three are all in detention for the rest of the week."
Harry, Ron, and Malfoy all groaned at the news, but they knew they had brought it upon themselves. As they left the office, they each went their separate ways, feeling angry and embarrassed. Ron couldn't believe what had happened. He had never meant to hit Thomas and his roommates, but his wand seemed to have a mind of its own. He couldn't even look them in the eye as he walked by their table.
While the fight was avoided, the Ravenclaws still looked ridiculous, with purple feathers sticking out from their robes. However, the situation was even worse for James, who had the misfortune of having his once pristine robes transformed into a bright shade of pink, making it the worst day of his life.
"I'm sorry," Ron muttered as he passed them. "It was an accident."
James clenched his fists, his face turning red with anger. "I can't believe this. My robes are ruined!" he exclaimed, looking down at the bright pink fabric with disgust. "And now we have to walk around looking like a bunch of birds and bloody pink candy. This is humiliating!"
He turned his gaze towards Ron, his eyes narrowing in fury. "And you! You couldn't even cast a simple spell without hitting the wrong target! You're lucky it was just our robes that got affected. You could have seriously injured someone with your recklessness."
Even though Ron was kind of acquainted after sharing a compartment in the train and talking with the boy for a while, he was still less of a friend than James and his other roommates, so Thomas nodded in agreement with what the Irish boy said. To be fair, if the spell didn't hit them, then maybe they wouldn't have been so angry that Ron turned them into a laughingstock. Thought another confrontation was the last thing Thomas, Adam, and Michael wanted.
"Let's just get out of here, everything ended, besides we can wash our robes in our room. Not to mention that I'd rather not start another standoff, not with all of the professors at the table."
Adam and Michael nodded in agreement with Thomas before Hermione scolded Ron. "He's right, Ron. You should be more careful with your spells. You could have seriously hurt someone."
Ron looked down at his feet, ashamed of what he had done. "I'm sorry," he mumbled. "I didn't mean to hit the Ravenclaw table. It was just a mistake."
Thomas sighed, "It's okay, Ron. Just be more careful next time." He then turned to James, "Let's just go back to our common room and change our robes. Sorry Hermione, but as you can see we can't stay any longer in the great hall. See you later."
James nodded, still fuming with anger. "Fine, let's go." He grabbed his bag and stormed out of the Great Hall, with Thomas and his friends following closely behind.
As they made their way out of the hall, James couldn't help but feel his anger raising. He had never felt so humiliated in his life. "I swear, if he pulls a stunt like this again, I'll fucking kill him," he muttered under his breath.
Thomas and his friends knew that James was just blowing off steam, but they could understand why he was so angry. They all headed back to their common room, where they changed their robes and talked about what had happened.
"I can't believe we almost got into a fight," Michael said, shaking his head. spells."
"It was just a mistake," Adam said, trying to be the voice of reason. "We all make them sometimes."
"But it was a pretty big mistake, one that even brought the Ravenclaws and the Gryffindors together to fight against Slytherin, for Pete's sake," Thomas added with a chuckle. "But now that I look back on it, he did turn James into a piece of candy! I guess you could say he was quite the sweet target."
They all laughed at the memory, which helped to ease the tension in the room. James, however, was still seething with anger. "I can't believe I had to walk in the whole castle wearing this robe," he grumbled. "Everyone was staring at me."
"They'll forget about it by tomorrow," Thomas said, trying to reassure his friend.
"I hope you're right, or I swear to god there will be one less Wesley in the world," James replied, still looking unhappy.
The rest of the day passed without incident, and the boys managed to get through their classes without any more drama. However, James still couldn't shake the feeling of embarrassment that had been gnawing at him all day. He couldn't wait for the next day to come, so he could hopefully forget what he was forced to wear. The following morning, as they made their way to their first class, Thomas noticed that James seemed to be in a better mood.
"You feeling better?" he asked. James nodded.
"Yeah, I guess so. I just couldn't wait to get back to our normal life."
"I hear you," Adam said. "These bird feathers are starting to itch."
They all laughed, feeling much more relaxed than they had the day before.