Chapter 43: Chin Up! Don't Lose Face!
"It's very difficult," Dumbledore said, a shadow of pain in his eyes. "The Longbottoms were tortured to the point of insanity with the Cruciatus Curse by Bellatrix Lestrange and a group of her followers, after Voldemort's fall. As Voldemort's most devoted servant, Bellatrix was desperate to learn his whereabouts from the Aurors and Order members she captured. She used the Unforgivable Curses without restraint, and the Longbottoms… they refused to break." He took off his spectacles, and Ryan thought he saw the glint of a tear in his eye.
Tortured into insanity… No wonder even Dumbledore can't heal them, Ryan thought. Their minds, their very selves, had been shattered. It was a wound that magic could not mend.
.....
After the Announcements, After the Feast.
The students, full from the feast and buzzing with the latest news, all headed back to their common rooms.
Gryffindor Common Room.
"What?! You're dueling Malfoy?!"
"What?! Harry is your second?!"
"What?! And you want me and Percy to go with you?!"
Fred and George were looking at their youngest brother as if for the first time. "I thought getting sorted into Gryffindor had used up all your courage for the year," George said.
"But it seems you're even braver than our wildest dreams!" Fred added.
"It's one thing to ask us," they said in unison, "but to try and drag our esteemed Prefect Percy into breaking the rules with you?!"
Just then, Hermione, who had been chatting with Penelope Clearwater, returned to the common room and overheard their plans. "You can't do that!" she shrieked, still a firm believer in the school rules. "That's against the rules!" She rounded on Harry. "And you, Harry! I can't believe you'd agree to this!"
Harry felt that he was being unfairly accused. He hadn't even known what a wizard's duel was when he had "agreed" to be a second.
Fred and George exchanged a look of pure glee. "As a Gryffindor," Fred began.
"And especially, as a member of the Adventurers' Club," George continued.
"Are you telling me you still care about the rules?"
Hermione, who had expected them to be either ashamed or defiant, was completely thrown. "What do you mean?"
"Oh, you really should take a closer look at the Gryffindor hourglass sometime," George said.
"In Ryan's own words," Fred added, "'the Ravenclaw gems have a case of hyperactivity, they're constantly going up and down.'" They then proceeded to regale Hermione with tales of Ryan's "greatest hits" of rule-breaking: his constant all-nighters, his ability to come and go from Hogwarts as he pleased, his permanent residency in the Restricted Section, and his status as a VIP customer at the hospital wing. Ryan, they declared, was a monument to the glorious art of rule-breaking, an inspiration to all truly brilliant Hogwarts students.
How can this be! Ryan, a rule-breaker! Hermione's world was tilting on its axis. But then she remembered what Penelope had told her, that Ravenclaw had lost all interest in the House Cup, that under a certain person's influence, they had come to see the points as an arbitrary game… The young witch was speechless, her head spinning.
"Breaking the rules together, getting detention together," the twins declared, "is the best way to build friendships! Why don't you come with us tonight?"
Faced with a direct invitation to break the rules, and with her idol's image now shattered, Hermione felt a strange, thrilling impulse. She nodded. Perhaps, she thought, twisting the hem of her robes in her hands, one can only truly understand the rule-breaker's mindset by breaking the rules oneself…
"So that's five of us," George said. "Malfoy and Selwyn are only two."
"Which means," Fred added, "we have the advantage!"
"So," Harry said, his idol's image now also a pile of rubble at his feet, "are we really going to get Percy?" He suddenly wondered if Percy, like Ryan, only pretended to be a good student, and was secretly a master rule-breaker himself.
"If Selwyn said he's looking forward to dueling Percy," Ron piped up, "it means they've clashed before. We need to tell him. With Percy, who's also a fifth-year, on our side, we can take on Malfoy."
"Oh, our little Ronniekins has learned to use logic!"
"I'm so proud! I really thought he believed we had the advantage!"
Harry's jaw dropped. He had actually believed the twins! And Ron hadn't? Ron, who was usually terrified of getting caught by Percy? In just a few short days, Ron had developed both courage and tactical thinking. "Blimey, Ron," Harry said. "You're incredibly brave to go to Percy with this."
"Brave Ronniekins!" George cheered. "We're both Weasleys! Why should Percy be the boss of you?!"
"That's right! Chin up! Don't lose face!" Fred added.
Hearing this, Ron's ears turned red. He ruffled his hair, grabbed his wand, and marched upstairs. He banged on Percy's door. "Percy! Just because you were born two years earlier doesn't mean you can boss us around! Come out! I need to talk to you!"
The others, hiding on the stairs, gave him a thumbs-up. "What a brave Gryffindor! Mum and Dad would be so proud!"
Percy opened the door with a frown, then rubbed his eyes, thinking he must be seeing things. He couldn't believe the person challenging him at his door was his youngest brother. He looked around, checking for Fred and George. "Ron? Is that really you?"
"It is!" Ron said loudly. "I need to talk to you." Before Percy could launch into a lecture, he said, "I've arranged a wizard's duel with Malfoy and Selwyn tonight in the trophy room. I need your help."
"A wizard's duel?!" Percy's anger was momentarily forgotten, replaced by disbelief. "You? With who? And you're planning on sneaking out after hours?! You'll get detention! I'll write to Mum and Dad…" He trailed off as Ron said the two names: "Malfoy and Selwyn."
"Who?! Who are you dueling?!"
"Vaisey Selwyn, the fifth-year from Slytherin."
Percy's eyes went wide. "What?!"
~~~
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