[42] Revenge and Neglect

Hall woke early.

He knew what was coming.

Ron was in the infirmary. Percy would wait for an explanation. And the twins — they'd be waiting too.

Sure enough, George and Fred were squatting by the Slytherin common room entrance.

"Hall!"

"Hall?"

Each grabbed one of Hall's arms. The other hand roughly scratched his red hair.

The old Henry William had been arrogant and rigid. He'd intimidated them. But now they knew he was Hall.

"What a joke. What's there to be afraid of?"

Hall used to give them prank ideas when they were kids.

"George! Fred!"

Hall struggled. Students coming and going through the common room stared in horror.

'I saw red hair in Slytherin. I must have gotten out of bed wrong.'

'He's playing with the Weasley twins. He must be a Weasley! There's a conspiracy!'

'I need to report to the Professor. Slytherin has an enemy.'

Hall's head spun. He grabbed the twins and walked. "Let's talk as we go."

The twins followed, vibrating with excitement.

"Hall, Hall~" George's voice practically twitched.

Hall knew exactly what he wanted.

"Let me make this clear. I'll give you the formula. I don't have time to do experiments with you."

The last time he'd joined their experiments, it had ended in disaster. He loved his brothers, but not that much.

George drooped. Fred leaned in. "Hall. George and I have a plan. Want to invest?"

"You sound like a fraudster, Fred."

"Not interested now. Maybe in two years."

The twins had talent for prank potions and gadgets. Hall admitted it. But they were third-years who hadn't mastered basic spelling. Starting a business?

Fred wasn't deterred. "I'll ask again later~"

"Are you... angry with me?"

They scratched their heads. "Angry about what?"

"Keeping it from you."

They exchanged a glance, then burst out laughing. They couldn't stand up straight.

"No! How could we be?" Fred leaned on George's back. "We think you're cool, Hall. Best prank we've ever seen!"

"Hall, you're incredibly cool!"

George reached out and ruffled Hall's hair. The Weasley red was stiff and curly. Hall's was soft. Made him look docile. He looked like Ron but couldn't be confused with him.

"What a brilliant prank. We never thought of that."

Fred squeezed Hall's shoulder. "We won't blame you. Ron won't. Percy won't. Just go find Percy and stand in front of him. He'll guarantee to say with a straight face, 'I hope you behave like George and Fred.' Hahahaha."

Hall couldn't help but smile.

Behind his back, the twins exchanged a wicked glance.

"Foolish Hall!"

Fred grabbed him and tucked him under his elbow. "George! Attack!"

"Revenge! For the disgrace of Quidditch!" George tickled Hall's waist.

"You cheated!" Hall laughed, dodging.

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He couldn't use real force. One push would send them sprawling.

He led them around, let them exhaust themselves, then slipped away.

"No brothers on the field. You're just not good enough."

The twins shrugged together. "Brother won. We won too. Is there a difference?"

"No."

Hall laughed until his head hurt. He waved his wand. A timer appeared.

"I'm going to see Ron. You have Herbology."

"Right!" They grabbed their bags and ran.

Hall breathed. Merlin. If they hadn't left, the others following would have suffocated.

Harry. Hermione. Pansy. Blaise.

They'd all arrived.

"Come out."

Nothing.

"I can see your robes."

If Harry had used the Invisibility Cloak, Hall might not have noticed. But with the crowd, Harry hadn't.

The four squeezed behind a Roman column. They exchanged glances and emerged, embarrassed.

They'd heard the rumours. Seen Hall with the twins. Followed him.

Hall looked exactly like Ron. But the demeanour was opposite. Ron was carefree and innocent. Hall was experienced and profound.

Harry remembered Ron's constant rambling about Hall's secrets. He felt a toothache. A little worried Hall would kill him to silence him.

"Harry. Hermione. Pansy. Blaise. What's wrong?"

Blaise spoke first, wary. "So it's true? You pretended to join Slytherin to find evidence to put us all in Azkaban?"

His eyes were full of hurt.

The news travelled fast, and soon questions turned toward Harry's relatives.

"Are you a troll, or is your brain filled with slugs?"

Hall rolled his eyes. Who would believe that?

He had a guess about the rumour's origin. His lips twitched. Those two troublemakers.

Blaise was stunned. "Why are you insulting me?"

"You believed a lie that stupid. Who else should I insult?"

The four of them looked everywhere except at him. Pillars. Armour. Ceiling.

"You all believed it?"

"If you were one of Dumbledore's people — the Professor wouldn't notice..."

"You two don't trust him that much?"

Pansy and Blaise stood awkwardly, silent. Yes. Their poor Professor had been deceived by the evil Dumbledore.

"And you two?" Hall turned to Harry and Hermione.

Surely Gryffindors wouldn't believe it. Gryffindor's grades were almost at the bottom because of the twins. Hufflepuff was barely below them.

Harry and Hermione exchanged a glance. They nodded sheepishly.

"George said it. Said his little brother Hall risked everything to defeat the evil Slytherin."

Hall sighed. Sure enough.

"I remember coming to Hogwarts, bullying Ron, beating the Gryffindor Quidditch team, tricking Gryffindor students."

"Fred said you were forced. To hide your identity. You cry in your bed every night."

Hall decided to kill them. Right now.

He took a deep breath. Forced a smile.

The four of them huddled together and trembled.

"Enough!"

"You've known me for a while. Would you rather believe outsiders?"

"It was my fault, Hall." Harry immediately released the others. "We're still friends, right?"

The other three stared at him. Harry Potter! Saviour! Betraying them so quickly!

Hall grasped Harry's hand. "Hall Weasley. Ron's twin brother."

"Harry Potter. Ron and Hall's friend."

The others grabbed Hall's hand in turn.

"Blaise Zabini. Hall's new roommate." Blaise winked.

Hall raised an eyebrow. He'd been wanting to change dorms. His current roommate was insufferable.

"Hermione Granger. Nice to meet you."

"Pansy Parkinson. I still owe you seventeen Galleons."

"Seventeen Galleons and four Sickles. Plus interest."

They all gave him a look. Same old Hall.

They exchanged smiles.

Hall knew they hadn't really believed the rumour. They'd wanted an excuse to get to know each other again. To avoid awkwardness.

He'd spent almost a semester with them. He knew their characters. Each had their own agenda, but they were simple children at heart.

Hogwarts was wonderful. A paradise protecting every child.

Hall understood why Voldemort chose Hogwarts for his final battle. It wasn't just a school. It was the spiritual home of every wizard. Occupying Hogwarts meant shattering every wizard's hope.

For the first time, Hall thought: maybe he could try to protect those beautiful smiles.

He coughed, distracted by his own sentiment.

"I'm going to the infirmary. Ron and Draco. Coming?"

The four exchanged glances. Exciting!

"Yes!"

Hall knew what they expected. They'd be disappointed.

Draco had already seen Hall's real face. Ron — anyone could be angry with you except Ron.

"Speaking of the infirmary — the diary was handed over to Dumbledore. But the second piece is still out there."

Hall frowned. Dumbledore should sense from the diary that Voldemort had split his soul. He'd deal with the remaining pieces quickly.

"Harry." Hall turned. "Did the Professor tell you about your godfather?"

Harry's face darkened.

"Someone escaped from Azkaban. My godfather is in there."

Hall frowned. Sirius had escaped because he saw Scabbers in the news. But Scabbers hadn't been in the news. His legs were crippled. He'd been behaving.

Then why?

Sirius was always doing unexpected things. Asking for trouble.

"Don't worry, Harry. I have a plan."

"I'll put it in the newspapers. 'Why Is the Little Saviour Being Mistreated by His Muggle Relatives?' Let's see if he comes out."

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