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Chapter 8

"So… what exactly is going on?"

Billy jumped, upsetting his ink bottle over his essay.

"Harry!"

"Sorry," said his brother sheepishly, using his wand to get rid of the ink. "But the kitchen door's locked, Jessica's crying her eyes out in her room, and the others are nowhere in sight…"

"Emily told them."

"Ah, and did they…"

"They didn't take it too well. There hasn't been any shouting… yet, but I've never seen dad so… so…"

"Is he angry?"

"Not in the usual sense, but he went all closed up, and… well I've seen Snape blow a gasket, but it's when he goes quiet that we really need to worry, every Slytherin knows that. Dad's not as different from Snape as he likes to think."

Harry grinned.

"Don't let dad hear you say that."

"I don't see what their problem is."

"They're just worried, Billy. What with Voldemort about… America's a very long way away, and I suppose they still see her as a little girl. They'll come round as soon as they realise she'll be out of the way if war does break out in full."

Billy thought about that for a moment.

"What are you doing here anyway?"

"Got kicked out of my flat," he admitted sheepishly. "Ginny's moved in, and they're using it as a base for wedding stuff today."

XXX

"Hey guys!"

"William!" cried Katarina happily, and the others cheered in greeting. Most of the first year Slytherins were all jammed in a compartment together.

"We were wondering if you were going to show up," said Joseph

"Only just managed to get on before the train left," admitted Billy. "We were running late."

"We thought maybe the Gryffindors had eaten you," teased Paolo.

"It came close," grinned Billy. "Left alone in the lion's den. At least I wasn't completely cut off, Snape visited from time to time…"

"Snape?" asked Thomas. "What was he doing at the Potters?"

"I don't know," said Billy defensively, cursing his slip of the tongue. "So how were your holidays?"

"Boring," moaned Grace instantly. "But this term, I think we should do something about Umbridge."

"Like what?"

They looked at each other uneasily.

"Well, we were hoping you could tell us that."

"Me?"

"Well," put in Joseph. "You're normally the one with the ideas."

XXX "You are here," said Umbridge, her toad-like smile stretched across her face. "Because I have been watching all of you very carefully."

Billy glanced around. There were seven of them sitting in the hideously pink office. A mixture of girls and boys, they were all Slytherins. There was one from each year group, including the head girl, and two prefects.

"I have singled you out for excellence," said Umbridge. "And because I believe that you will be future leaders of the school, and the wizarding world."

Dread pooled in Billy's stomach. He didn't like where this was going.

"Therefore, I have decided to introduce a new position of authority within the school, the inquisitorial squad."

There was deathly silence within the room as they all processed this.

"I should like you to be the flagship members."

Her tone made it clear that it wasn't a suggestion. Afterwards they congregated in a deserted classroom, examining their shiny new badges.

"This is ridiculous," declared Amanda Montague. Lint nodded in agreement. "This is going to completely undermine the prefects system!"

The others nodded in agreement, and Lint scowled.

"Not just that," he grumbled. "But this is going to completely ruin our reputation when the toad gets what's coming to her. We've been coerced into openly supporting her… and she was right, we're the leaders of each year group. The rest will follow us, they always do."

"We need to spread the word," decided Amanda. She turned to Lint, and Claire Nott, the sixth year prefect. "Can you two go to the prefect's common room, I'm calling an emergency meeting. The rest of you, gather the Slytherins together and explain what's happening, though Merlin knows what the toad has up her sleeve…"

The group split up, leaving Billy wondering exactly when he had gone from an anomaly in the sorting ceremony, to being the leader of the first year Slytherins.

XXX

Within the common room, there was no need to present the united front, and the Billy watched in dismay as they began bickering amongst themselves.

"Why shouldn't we take advantage of it?"

"The mudbloods deserve what they're gonna get!"

"But when Umbridge falls…"

"Quiet!" called Amanda, but to no avail. Billy stood next to her.

"SHUT UP!" he yelled. An abrupt silence fell, and Amanda looked down at Billy with new respect.

"Thank you, William. Now as I was saying, the ability to dock points will completely undermine the authority of the teachers and the prefects."

"So?" piped up a seventh year. "We can use this to our advantage."

"At the cost of our reputation," retorted Amanda.

"What does that matter? The other houses all hate us anyway?"

There was a general murmur of agreement. Billy couldn't help himself, before he knew it, he'd spoken up again.

"Are you people Slytherins or not?" he demanded. "Where is your cunning, your ambition, your future agenda?"

He stopped talking to find everyone staring at him.

"Carry on," said Lint, in the tone of voice that said: You've started, kid. Now you've gotta finish.

Billy stared around.

"Umbridge will fall," he announced. "I don't know when, but she will. She must. The ministry has been lying to the people, and as soon as the truth about Voldemort comes out, it will be the end of them."

There were numerous hisses at Voldemort's name.

"Don't speak that word here," whispered Amanda. Billy nodded.

"The ministry have been discrediting Dumbledore," he continued. "And it's been working like a dream. But that plan will backfire on them as soon as the Dark Lord comes out into the open."

"What do you know about this," sneered a girl. "I can't believe we're listening to this first year brat."

"Yeah, why should we listen to you?"

"Because you know I'm right!"

"We shall listen to what he has to say," instructed Lint. "Umbridge singled him out with the rest of us. We all have an equal say here."

There was silence again.

"How many of you have parents who serve the Dark Lord? How many of you have already been promised into his service? As Slytherins we know the truth, and that gives us a unique position to act from. If we act first, we can control the outcome of the inevitable war."

There were more murmurs at his words.

"Think about it! We are the next generation of Death Eaters, the Dark Lord's foot soldiers. But if we said no, he would probably crumble before I'm out of Hogwarts."

"The Dark Lord's got the right idea!" shouted out a boy.

"Who cares what his aims are? The Dark Lord act isn't exactly subtle, what's so Slytherin about that? He's not even a pure blood!"

This surprised them.

"That's alright for you to say," put in Amanda quietly. "But most of us here have no choice."

"Which is why we need a Plan. And I think I have one..."