Ah, Screw It!

Chapter 12

There was a lot of gossip at dinner that night. The Headmaster was back and he did not look well. He looked like he had been held hostage and fed bread and water.

Which wasn't too far from the truth.

After dinner Harry cornered his new minders.

"Greg, Vinnie, take a seat." Harry instructed as he conjured a pair of arm chairs in the common room for the boys. He then threw up a Muffliato.

"AAAAHHHHHH!"

Everyone in the room turned as the same boy screamed and ran out of the room.

Agatha, who was sitting at a table helping some first years, immediately ran after him.

Harry shook his head and returned his attention to Gregory and Vincent.

"So...... boys! Why have you taken to following me around like you did Malfoy? Not that I don't appreciate the company, that is! I'm just curious." Harry asked with a smile. He didn't want to hurt the boy's feelings if they just wanted to be his friends.

Greg and Vinnie (and they really liked the nicknames Harry gave them) shared a look.

Greg looked at Harry and stated simply: "It's what we're supposed to do."

Going out on a very slight limb, Harry asked. "Because someone told you to?" He received a confident nod from them. "Alright, tell me the details. Who gave you the instructions and what did they entail?"

Vincent sat up straight and said with pride. "Our fathers instructed us to guard the Malfoy Heir until the Dark Lord returns."

"Ooookay." Harry drawled. "So why are you following me?"

"Our fathers said we had to watch Draco until you killed him or tossed him out of Hogwarts."

The two boys seemed so...... innocent, to Harry.

He couldn't help but wonder if their dads had more brains than them.

"Are your dads Death Eaters?" He asked casually.

Both boys nodded.

He was beginning to doubt it.

Harry leant back in his chair tiredly and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

Harry had a thought and dropped the muffliato.

"Guys, being a Death Eater is about the most horrible thing a person can be." As he had hoped, people began to pay attention. "I'm not talking about the murders they commit or the torturing they do...... I'm talking about what they go through themselves.

"Lord No Name enjoys torturing people himself. He likes to do it to his Death Eaters. Ask your dads if he ever used the Crucio on them.

"But that's not the only downside. You see, being a Death Eater means that you are a criminal. Like Draco. You can't go out in public. You can't go and have an ice cream at Fortescue's or a Butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks.

"You spend your life on the run or in hiding...... waiting to be told who to kill or to be summoned before Lord No Name and tortured...... just because he's bored.

"And what about when you are told to kill someone? It could be anyone. It could be Millie, or Missus Farley...... and he won't put them back together like we did with Mister Griffy."

"You keep talking about the Dark Lord, Potter. What about the rewards?" Lucian Bole challenged from one of the sofas. "What about what the Dark Lord stood for?"

"What did he stand for?" Harry asked calmly.

"Purity of blood! He stood for Purebloods everywhere to make sure that we aren't overrun by mud-" Bole froze as Harry's wand appeared in his hand and pointed at him. "Muggleborn."