TFA: Chapter 8: Skirmishes, Secrets & Schemes Part II

> *"Tell me, Draco, why would you ever use an unnamed mudblood as your second?"*
>
>

— Lucius Malfoy scheming with his son Draco Malfoy to get someone else to take the fall of the Wizard's Duel.

## Summary:

James Potter and Peter Pettigrew discuss the Gringott's Break in. Lucius Malfoy gets Tracey Davis in trouble for Draco Malfoy's actions in the duel. Harry Potter severely injures Theodore Nott in Defense Against the Dark Arts, and is tasked with writing an essay as punishment. Harry discovers a secret passage, and gets invited to the Weitt's Samhain event.

## Plot:

**September 13th, 1991:** James Potter and Peter Pettigrew are enjoying their morning tea and discussing the Gringott's break-in on a Balcony at the Potter Manor. James receives a note from Charlus Potter about the Cerberus, and incidentally sets Peter onto the trail of whatever was in the vault.

Draco Malfoy is brought into the headmaster's office from the Hospital wing by Professor Snape for the duel. There, he finds his father and Dumbledore discussing his punishment. Lucius Malfoy takes Draco aside to discuss the duel with him, and, concerned that Albus Dumbledore would get his Golden Boy of Gryffindor and his twin off, encourages Draco to point the blame at Tracey Davis and Seamus Finnigan rather than the Potters.

When Ron Weasley returns from his interrogation in Dumbledore's office, Charlus is happy he didn't blame Harry, like he had been asked to the night before. Charlus didn't want him to do this because he felt there was more going on and didn't want his family to be blamed.

Tracey Davis is blamed for the damage done during the Duel, and gets a large amount of detention and loses 50 House Points. When Harry is informed as to what happened, he is outraged, and when he attempts to hex Draco, he is stopped by Daphne Greengrass. She encourages him to stew on it and not do anything rash, and he accedes to her, not wanting to immediately throw away their possible place in the Slytherin Hierarchy.

In Defense Against the Dark Arts, they practice defending against curses with the Aegis Vocar shield. Professor Hurst pairs Harry with Theodore Nott. Harry is so angry about what happened with Tracey, he let his emotions influence the spell he casts at Theodore, and the Pimple Jinx sent at him rips through his shield and causes his entire body to break out in boils. Professor Hurst uses the General Counterspell to stop the boils from continuing, sends Theodore to the hospital wing, and dismisses the class save for Harry. When it's just Harry, she curses him, but he manages to block it. He is so angry with everything that has happened that he ends up attacking her with everything spell he knows, throwing curses with abandon for ten minutes until he is exhausted, being insulted and egged on by Professor Hurst the entire time. When he is spent, she asks him why his curse went wrong. He is unsure why, but she manages to guess that he was angry and lost control of the intent of the spell. She lectures him a bit on magical theory, and berates him for not yet having read *Intent is Power*. As punishment for what he did, she assigns him an essay on the first chapter of the book. Based on her actions, in intentionally placing Harry with Theodore, it is possible she used Legilimency to ascertain Harry's state of mind and engineered the incident to drive Harry into her tutelage.

**September 14th, 1991:** Harry leaves the common room early to go to the library. He picks up several books in the restricted section, mainly *Intent is Power,* but also *On the Offensive: A Guide in The Basics of Striking First and Last, 50 Non Lethal, Must Know Curses To Win A Duel,* and *Most Potent Potions.* He contemplates his revenge, and then goes exploring after returning to the common room. At the decoy entrance to the Slytherin Common Room, he speaks to the snakes, and asks them to 'Open'. This forms a door to a secret passage which comes out in the Grand Staircase. At breakfast, he speaks with Daphne and Tracey, and then receives a mysterious owl. The message is from Sigmund Weitts, inviting him to the Weitts Samhain Event.

## Characters Introduced:

Sigmund Weitts.

Lucius Malfoy.

Chronological Order