Revealing cards
If there was anyone left in Slytherin who respected Malfoy, that respect likely had evaporated by the time the next morning rolled around. Slytherin had already been struggling a bit in the House Cup, and him losing seventy points in one night put them well behind Gryffindor. Naturally, no one wanted to let him live it all down.
"Honestly, if he were to just own up to it, he might regain some standing", Nott grumbled during one of their study sessions. "He's not the first Slytherin to lose a bunch of points in some cockamy ploy, and he won't be the last. But the way he keeps going on about how Hagrid and you three", looking at Harry, Neville and Hermione, "actually had a dragon and magically smuggled it out of the castle without being seen by anyone just pisses everyone off."
"Nevermind how he thinks everyone else should just back him, because, oh, I'm a Malfoy, I'm wizarding royalty!", Greengrass angrily added with a dramatic flair. "Bloody ponce. I think even these two", she pointed at Crabbe and Goyle, who both looked slightly embarassed, "are fed up with him."
The two boys simply shrugged. "I mean, he was pretty sure about the whole thing", Goyle half-heartedly tried to defend Malfoy. "And honestly, I wouldn't put it past Hagrid to own a dragon... somewhere."
"Except that baby dragons can't fly yet, and even if they did, someone would've noticed it", Crabbe said. "So I dunno how you guys got it out, but honestly, seeing him lose his mind over the matter is pretty entertaining, so... thanks?"
"It was entertaining at first", Zabini said. "Now it's just annoying. Still, outsmarting Draco isn't that easy, so good job - wonder why you didn't end up in Slytherin."
'Yes, that house was in dire need of some raising in standards', Tom decreed.
Harry meanwhile simply shrugged. "We're talking about the same guy who challenged me to a 'midnight duel' in front of a prefect", he reminded them, causing Hermione to giggle and Crabbe and Goyle to groan at the memory. "Oh, and the hat actually wanted to put me in Slytherin - convinced it to pick Gryffindor instead though."
Zabini groaned theatrically. "And let me guess: you asked for the red and gold because you crossed Malfoy first and didn't like him?"
"Nah, that wasn't the reason", Harry admitted. "It... it was because I wanted to have some kind of connection to my parents."
Zabini blinked. "Well, now I feel a bit bad."
"I don't", Greengrass bluntly stated. "No offence, Potter, but that may have been the dumbest thing you've ever done, and I saw you stand up on your broom to snitch the Snitch from Higgs."
'Finally, someone agrees with me!', Tom exclaimed.
"Eh, I think everything worked out fine", Harry said with a shrug. "Though it would've been funny to have Snape as my head of house."
"Not for our chances at the House Cup", Davis darkly stated. "Don't get me wrong, Potter, I like you enough, but with whatever Snape's issue is with you, I don't think he'd be awarding you any points."
"All the better then that he's in our house", Hermione said with a slight bite in her voice.
'Ooh, someone's looking like she's jealous', Tom teased.
'Seriously?', Harry groaned.
'Davis says she likes you enough, and Hermione gets all bitey? Harry, that girl likes you, and I know you like her, too - don't you try to deny it, I can stil read your thoughts.'
'I wasn't about to deny that - of course we like each other, we're friends!'
Now it was Tom's turn to groan. 'Was I ever this clueless?'
Malfoy's attittude kept getting him into trouble, as well - most notably when, after serving his detention with Hagrid, he made up a story about having witnessed a vampire slaying a unicorn and drinking its blood. Naturally, this earned him quite a bit of ridicule from others - except for Harry, whose ears peaked when he heard about the tale.
'Looks like Quirrell is getting careless', Tom and he agreed.
And as the Hogwarts Rumour Mill did what it did best, the story naturally found its way into the study group, where everyone began pestering the four male Slytherins for details.
"Not much more to it", Nott said with a dismissive handwave. "Draco claims he saw a figure in a black cloak standing over a dead unicorn, holding a cup of sorts filled with what looked like unicorn blood, then he screamed, rousing the wannabe-vampire, and he had to be saved by a herd of centaurs of all creatures. Honestly, it's the dumbest tale imaginable."
Not everyone agreed, though. "But why would Malfoy make something like this up?", Justin Finch-Fletchley asked. "It just hurts his status even more, and that's just about everything to him."
Susan Bones had different concerns. "A vampire killing a unicorn is unheard off", she stated. "It sounds like something my aunt would like to look into."
"She's the chief of police, right?", Kellah Smith asked. "Or the equivalent to it, anyways."
"She is", Susan confirmed. "And I know for a fact she has a burning desire to have words with the headmaster over what happened... during Halloween."
Parvati Patil meanwhile struggled to wrap her mind around the fact that anyone wanted to hurt such a magnificent creature, as she put it, and was rather upset when Terry Boot pointed out the various uses unicorn blood had.
Eventually, Harry sighed. "I don't think that it's a vampire", he said. "I think it's Professor Quirrell."
Naturally, this caused a bit of a stir. "That idiot?", Zabini asked with a snort. "Get outta here, Potter."
"I know this sounds weird, but get this: that garlic stench disguises something different - the back of his head in particular smells like its rotting away", he explained. "And we all know just how sick he looks."
Mandy Brocklehurst was the first to catch on. "You think he's dying", she deducted. "And that he's trying to keep himself alive through unicorn blood."
Hermione shuddered. "He's after the Stone", she whispered. "That's whom you saw in january!"
"Hang on, what Stone, and whom did Potter see when?", Goyle asked.
Harry, Hermione and Neville eyed each other sheepishly. "We, ah, figured out why the third floor corridor is off limits", Harry eventually admitted. "Dumbledore's hiding the Philosopher's Stone somewhere in there - he had Hagrid pick it up when he took me to Diagon Alley, the same day that Gringotts break-in occured."
"Wait, Hagrid was the one to take you to Diagon Alley?", Nott asked with a groan. "That oaf?"
This earned him a whack with a textbook by Anthony. "Seriously?", the Ravenclaw chastised. "That's your takeaway?"
"It's a valid concern", Nott grumbled as he rubbed his shoulder.
"But not the main focus", Crabbe said. "How the hell did you figure out what that vault's content was?!"
"Hagrid name-dropped Flamel after that first match", Neville explained. "I didn't connect the dots myself until these two told me, but it would make sense - the Stone grants two things a lot of mages are willing to commit murder for, so risking Goblin Wrath isn't too far off."
"Okay, fine, but that stutterbox barely knows how to hold his wand correctly", Davis snorted. "He couldn't possibly pull of a heist like that."
"Unless his inadequacy is purely for show - let everyone think you're the village idiot, and no one will suspect you of anything", Greengrass said. "It's what I would do."
"And I know for a fact that he tried to sneak into the corridor - spotted him one night while I was, ah, exploring the castle", Harry admitted. "Ran into Dumbledore right after and told him, but..."
"Yeah, Dumbledore's not known for quick action - my grandpa would still be alive if he was", Zabini grumbled.
"Thing is, we - or at least I - don't think he's the only one after the Stone", Neville said. "I... I think that Y-- that You-Know-Who might've been behind the Gringotts break-in."
The collected purebloods blanched at that. "But he wouldn't dare, right? I mean, Dumbledore's the only wizard he ever f-feared", Padma said with shaking voice. "And that's... that's provided he's actually still alive, and I mean, Harry here killed him... right?"
"Don't underestimate the Dark Lord and his powers", Goyle whispered almost reverently. "Father told me stories - he conquered Death itself, uncovered hidden avenues of magic... he held power even Dumbledore could only dream about."
"Yeah, if anyone could successfully break into Gringotts and escape, it's him", Crabbe said in the same tone. "The man was on his way to becoming a god before he fell, and you cannot kill gods - that's what my father says, anyways."
"Then it's a good thing we apparently have a godkiller among us", Hannah Abbott said with a sharp voice.
"Please, no more nicknames", Harry groaned.
"Look, the point is, the Dark Lord may very well still be out there", Nott said. "And having the Philosopher's Stone would either restore his power or amplify it, whichever he seeks - and if anyone would be able to breach the Hogwarts Wards, it would be him. I heard the same stories, after all."
"You shouldn't believe every story you hear, Nott", Ernie Macmillan plustered himself.
"And every great tale has a true core", Crabbe shot back.
"Look, even if Voldemort is after the Stone", Harry rolled his eyes at the collective flinch, "Quirrell is far more pressing, what with him being employed here and all."
"Agreed", Greengrass said. "It's very well possible he may be suffering from some blood curse - the symptoms Potter mentioned match, and it may well be that it's in its final stages, hence his killing of unicorns for their blood. I can't think of any other reason why he'd want to risk a damned life, if his life is already just that."
"You'd know all about that, wouldn't you?", Goldstein grumbled, causing Greengrass to glare at him.
"Let's not go there", Davis quickly said. "The question is, what should we do?"
"I could write my aunt, but I doubt that anything will come of it", Susan said. "When it comes to Hogwarts, people tend to let Dumbledore do his thing."
"Typical", Harry muttered under his breath.
"I mean, if the headmaster knows about Quirrell doing... shady stuff, I don't see why we should do anything more", Mandy said. "The man knows what he's doing, I'm sure he has something in place to protect the Stone."
"Here's hoping", Harry replied darkly.
After they had concluded their session, Harry made his way down to the Quidditch Pitch. He didn't have practice, but he had found that flying did wonders to raise his spirits, and he desperately needed that right now.
'Why is everyone always so willing to just look the other way?', he thought to himself.
'It's what I said', Tom replied. 'Dumbledore is incredibly good at self-advertising - he manages to look like the man with the plan, even when that plan is shite, or non-existent.'
'Typical', Harry muttered. 'Speaking of self-advertising, what even was that stuff about Voldemort Crabbe and Goyle went on about? That was nuts!'
'Madmen love creating their personality cults', Tom darkly replied after a short pause. 'And Voldemort most certainly fits that bill.'
Harry had a feeling like Tom wanted to say something more, but he didn't push - Tom didn't deserve that, after all, and he usually always told eventually.
Just then, he heard whimpering from a closeby classroom, and Harry, concerned that someone was in trouble, made his way towards it. What he eventually heard surprised him, though.
"Please, please - not again, no, please -"
'That's Quirrell speaking', Harry realized.
'It sure is - what the hell is going on?', Tom wondered.
Suddenly, pain flared up in Harry's forehead, and he groaned as he reached for his scar, barely noticing Quirrell's next words.
'What is going on?', he pressed out. 'Tom?'
'It's not me', the same said, confused and worried. 'At least... I don't think it is?'
Just then, Quirrell shot out of the room, pale and with his turban in slight disarray, not even noticing Harry as he passed him by. Once he was gone, the pain largely subsided, and Harry was left merely wondering what the hell had just happened.
'That was... what the hell was that?', he asked.
'I don't know', Tom answered, sounding unnaturally worried. 'But it spells trouble.'