Better Be Slytherin!

his concerns as those of a stupid, attention-seeking brat? What if he ignored Harry, like practically every other adult he had ever met had done? Hell, instead of ignoring him, he might even give Harry detention for knowing about the cerberus at all, since the third floor corridor was supposed to be forbidden.

'What don't you know, Harry?' Teddy asked softly. 'I mean, this seems like the sort of thing we ought to warn him about. After all, we can't be expected to do anything about it; we're just first years.' He paused, then, 'What are you afraid of?'

'I'm not afraid!' Harry said. 'I'm not. But . . . well, you can't trust them.'

'Them?'

'You know, teachers. Professors. Upperclassmen.' Harry shook his head. 'Nobody.'

Teddy held his gaze for a long time, then said, 'Is that a Muggle thing?'

Harry frowned, not understanding, and Millie, who had been looking back and forth between the two of them, like at a tennis match, now she spoke up. 'It isn't, is it, Harry? Not just Muggles. You really don't trust anyone.'

He shrugged, still a bit confused. 'I trust you guys. And Hermione.'

Millie gave him a sly smile. 'That's 'cause we're naturally trustworthy. Well, maybe not that Gryffindor, 'cause of how she cursed your Frogs--'

'She didn't!'

Millie laughed. 'I was just kidding, Harry. But really, I wouldn't say we could go to any teacher, like not McGonagall or the Headmaster, obviously, but we can trust our Head of House . . . I mean, once he started treating you decent, he's been okay.' Then suddenly, she frowned. 'But what do you mean by 'upperclassmen'? Did that worm Gaius bother you again?'

Harry winced. He'd meant to tell them before, but hadn't gotten around to it . . . no, if he was honest with himself, he'd admit he hadn't wanted to tell them; he'd been embarrassed at getting himself cornered by the git so easily.

'He did!' Millie exclaimed. 'Damnit, Harry, why didn't you say anything?'

Harry shrugged and looked away, but when Teddy said, 'C'mon, you can tell us,' he admitted, ''Cause I was stupid,' he mumbled. 'And I didn't want you to know.'

'Well, that's the part that's stupid,' Millie told him. 'What did he do to you?'

'Nothing.'

'Bullshit.'

'Millicent!'

'Oh, shut it, Nott. You know it's bullshit, too.'

Teddy rolled his eyes. 'Of course it is, but your vulgarity is uncalled for.'

'Prude,' Millie muttered. 'So, spill, Harry. What did he do? Did he hurt you?'

Harry snorted. 'That's what Snape asked.'

'You told Snape!? How--'

Teddy interrupted Millie mid-rant. 'Good for you, Harry. That must've been tough.'

Harry shrugged one shoulder. 'Yeah, but I had to. We made a deal.'

'What kind of deal?' Millie asked, but Teddy gave her a pointed look.

'We're getting a bit off track, Bullstrode.'

'Oh, yeah. Right. So when was this, with Gaius?'

'Saturday night.' Harry looked down at his hands, unable to deal with his friends' expressions. He knew he'd been an idiot to let himself be trapped alone. 'He followed me into the toilet.'

'Was anyone else in there?' Millie asked.

Harry shook his head. 'No . . . he just followed me in, and when I was washing up after, he came up behind me at the sinks.' He swallowed, feeling his hands shake and his face get hot. Stupid, he'd been so stupid.

'What did he do?' Teddy asked, real soft, like he thought Harry was going to cry or something. But he wasn't. He hadn't, in years.

'Just grabbed me,' he said, real quick, to get it over with. 'My arms. And he pressed up against me. I shoulda just shoved him or something, or told him to leave me alone. But then he just said some stuff and let me go.' He shrugged again. 'So, it wasn't any big deal anyway.'

Millie and Teddy exchanged a look. Harry could see it out of the corner of his eye. 'Look, you guys, he didn't do anything. It's not that big a deal.'

'Okay, Harry,' Teddy said, too quickly for Harry not to know he was just placating him. 'But you told the professor all this?'

'Yeah. Well, most of it.' Sort of. Except he'd not said who it was before the vision knocked him out. Stupid visions.

'Okay, that's good.' Teddy glanced at Millie again. 'So, will you tell Professor Snape about the whatever-it-is being in danger of larceny, or do you want me to?'

Harry stared at his friend. Teddy seemed perfectly serious. But if anyone was going to take the fall for this with the professor, Harry would not let it be one of his friends. He sighed. 'I'll tell him.'