HP: The Unchosen One-(Malfoy SI)

Chapter 11

CASSIUS MALFOY

With the map in his hands, Cassius found it a lot easier to make his little escapades to the Room of Requirement while keeping an eye on both Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black.

The traitor was very cautious and rarely left the confines of the Gryffindor, making it difficult for him to reach him, but Cassius knew that he would get an opportunity soon.

Because if Sirius Black's movements were any indication, the man would be trying to break into Hogwarts soon. He had already noticed him coming up the Whomping Willow many a times, and Cassius believed that the man was waiting for the Hogsmeade weekend to make a move.

He would have liked to help the man before that but had decided to delay it, deeming it essential that he got his hands on Pettigrew, and this was the best opportunity in that regard that came to his mind.

For if Sirius's innocence was announced before the rat's capture, Peter Pettigrew would take a few seconds to vanish into the wilderness before joining up with his master once again.

Something he planned to thwart by all means.

A part of him wanted to hand it all to Dumbledore and be done with it, and while he had many faults with the old man, Cassius was sure that he was not the evil mastermind he feared him to be.

Albus Dumbledore was simply a man too old and too tired. He had suffered a lot and was juggling far too many things at once, being Chief Warlock, Headmaster, and an ICW Head.

The man's tragic life had given him an aversion to personal power, for he did not trust himself with it, and he genuinely believed that lasting change would come through educating and influencing the younger generation. A naive but noble idea nonetheless.

And so, Cassius planned to handle it all himself, for while he did not think Dumbledore to be evil, he did think the man to be complacent and overworked. He considered him as his last resort, a trump card of sorts he could use if he failed in his own plans.

But he would not fail.

But today, he had put it all aside for sometime, as he closed the map after a final look and raced down the Hall for a quick breakfast. And as he rushed through the common room he could see the more enthusiastic cabal of students, making banners, doing face faint and practising chants.

"Here he is, our new Seeker," Penelope Clearwater greeted him as she waved at him from one side of the room.

"All because of your extortion, you witch," he shouted back, though he could have wiggled his way out of it if he really wanted to, but a part of him wanted to enjoy these little respites, and though he was not the biggest quidditch fanatic, he did enjoy the sport.

He headed out of the room, and her friends all chuckled.

Today was his first time playing Quidditch at school, and while he was not overtly fond of the game, years spent playing it with his brother had given him a respectable level of skill.

He walked down the Great Hall, and because of the weekend, the Hall was rather empty, except for the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaw teams. He quietly slid down on the table, and after a second, his breakfast appeared infront of him.

Simple Egg and toast, with a large cup of Coffee.

"You excited for the match today," Tracey asked as she sat down beside him, and Cassius sighed.

"A bit," especially since it would be the first time that the team would be following his tactics, which, while not unique, were a bit unorthodox.

"I have heard that you cooked up a plan for your House Team," Daphne asked. That was a surprise, given that they had planned to keep their new tactics a secret from everyone.

"How do you know that?" he asked.

"I heard the girls talking about it. They seemed rather taken with their new Seeker," Daphne added as she looked towards Cho and her group, who waved at him, and he really shouldn't have expected anything else.

"Does anyone else know?" he asked, and Daphne shook her head. That was good, and he began to slice into the toast and eat it when Tracey suddenly voiced up from behind.

"So, did you ask out Granger yesterday?" and he nearly spat the toast as he quickly reached for his coffee to help it down his throat.

"What the hell!" he coughed out as he looked towards the brunette, who was frowning at him conspirationally.

"No? And why would I even do that?" and she rolled her eyes.

"It was the perfect opportunity," she lamented.

"It was why I and Daphne chose to take the day off, you know. To give you some alone time so you could make your move," and while that was noble of her, he looked towards Daphne for confirmation of this, and she shrugged.

"Two things can be true at once," and that meant Tracey was simply lying.

"Well, I thought about it," Tracey added as he rolled his eyes.

"No. I did not, and neither do I plan to," and he did not miss Daphne's narrowing eyes at his words.

"Why? It's the best opportunity," and with that, she punched him, making him look up.

"Look, she is even here to cheer for you, sitting all by herself," Tracey added in a swooning voice, and indeed, Hermione was sitting there on the Gryffindor table alone, reading a book.

There were a few groups around her, but she sat alone, peering down that book as she ate a sandwich with her other hand.

"You should really ask her," she added. The idea had crossed his mind, but he felt that he should take things slow. He had already received a letter this morning from their mother asking him about their supposed friendship.

No wonder his dear brother must have idiotically mentioned it to their father in his letter, sparking this interest.

"Perhaps you could ask her during our less..."

"That is enough," Daphne came to his rescue as she stopped Tracey.

"It is time for us to go," she said, standing up, wrapping her arm around Tracey's shoulder, and dragging her away.

"Wait! Wait, I still haven't told him about those rum..." but she was dragged away mercilessly by Daphne as Cho approached him.

"Are you done?" she asked, and he nodded, taking a massive sip of the coffee.

"Nearly," he replied.

"Then let's go to the Stadium together. We could discuss our formations along the way," and while it may not look like it, the girl was quite a Quidditch enthusiast, though her skill as a Chaser was quite mediocre.

"Sure," and with a final sip, he stood up as they all rushed out of the dining Hall, ready for the match ahead.

0000

HERMIONE GRANGER

The whispers had become bolder, and even as she sat there alone on the Gryffindor table, the murmurs of the girls around her reached her ears. She had never really gelled in with the rest of the girls from their House.

But for some reason, they had always been cautious about voicing slander against her, and that was until a few days ago when rumors about her chasing after Cassius became rampant in the Gryffindor common room.

And while initially, the insults dolled onto her by her housemates had always been about being a know-it-all and a teacher's pet. This time, there was a new word associated with her.

Leech. Greedy. Gold Digger.

They all gossiped about it, laughing and mocking her, yet she continued to ignore them. Or at least she was trying to, but still, it all did unsettle her a bit.

Especially for she was not blind to her evolving friendship with Cassius and his friends. And the whole school knew of the wealth of the Malfoys, evidenced by the way Draco had just sued a Firebolt in a school Quidditch match.

Cassius was nothing like his brother; she had never doubted that, but still, he did surprise her daily with his antics and behavior. Their friendship, while a little strange was not something she would put into jeopardy because of the likes of Lavender Brown.

Her and Cassius were good friends, and she doubted that he liked her in that way.

Why would he? She knew that she was not that beautiful; both Daphne and Tracey were better looking than her, and as she had also come to learn, she was not the smartest as well.

Why the hell would he ever even think about her in that way?

And yet, as she looked up, she found him looking towards her, his dark eyes focused onto her even as she turned the page and ate her breakfast.

And the gaze lingered on her until he was approached by his teammates from the Quidditch team.

As she looked to the side, she saw Lavender quickly stifle her laugh as the girl scoffed at her. Her friends made faces at her while subtly pointing at the Ravenclaw table for obvious reasons.

Her lips thinned, and she closed her book. Her breakfast finished, and as she was about to stand up, she heard her name getting called out.

"Hermione," she looked back and saw Harry standing there, rubbing his eyes, with Ron beside him. And as she saw him, her mood soured even further.

"Good morning, Harry," she greeted him as he sat down.

"Why are you up so early?" he asked.

"She is probably going to the library," Ron scoffed as Harry still looked at her, expecting an answer.

"For the match, actually. What about you?" she answered, which seemed to surprise Harry as Ron's scowl deepened.

"You are going to watch too?" Harry asked, and she nodded. It was rare for her to watch the matches for other teams, given that she could usually spend the time studying, but today, she had promised someone else.

"I should have expected that," Ron added, and she did not like how he was looking at her.

"You must be going there to cheer for Malfoy, you traitor," and she raised a brow.

"I do not have to explain myself to anyone," and with that, she picked up her book and walked off.

"Hermione, wait," and she ignored Harry's plea as she walked out of the Hall, tired and frustrated with everyone else and so angry she was, she bumped into someone just as she was walking out.

THUD!

"Ouch!" she grunted as her book fell out of her hands.

"I am sorry," she quickly apologized as she looked forward and saw just who it was, and it was a face she recognized.

"It is fine," the short girl answered as she rubbed her head while looking at her with a strange expression.

"It must have been the wrackspurts," and she frowned as she picked up the book.

"The wrackspurts," the girl added again. She pointed at her face, and Hermione rubbed it, thinking there was something on there.

"They mess with your brain," and she was frowning.

"Hello, Granger!" as she was confused, she looked back and saw Tracey and Daphne walking out of the Hall.

"Hi," she answered Tracey's zealous greeting as Daphne and she exchanged nods.

"Hi there, Luna. You excited for the match," and that was her name. She had heard it from Ginny, and the girl was their junior from Ravenclaw. She was dressed for the match as well, with her face painted in the iconic yellow and purple of the Ravenclaw House.

"Yes, are you heading to the stadium?" she asked, and Tracey and Daphne nodded.

"Yes," before Tracey turned towards her.

"Why don't you join us as well, Granger? It's not like any of our houses are facing one another today," she opened her mouth, thinking of rejecting the idea but suddenly realized that she would be alone otherwise.

"Would that be fine with you?" she asked.

"Of course, then we can head for our practicals lesson together afterward," and that was an idea she liked.

"Oh. Is that the class where Cassius practices his magic with you," the second-year Ravenclaw asked, and she nodded.

"Then you should ask him about the wrack spurts," she said airily looking at her once more.

"Cassius has the charm to get rid of them," and with that, she walked forward.

"It is quite useful," she added, leaving a perplexed Hermione stranded there.

"That's Loone..."

"TRACEY!" Daphne's voice cut in, halting the brunette in her words as the girl gulped nervously.

"That's Luna for you. She has quite the imagination. But she can be quite fun, and according to Cassius, she is a treasure," Tracey added as she joined them two, and that was how she remembered her.

The girl often sat with him during the meals.

"She is a bit weird," Daphne added.

"But she is a good girl and friends with my sister. And Cassius does not like it when people call her names," and she was looking at Tracey as she said this.

"Come on. It was a mistake, and I did not mean it like that," she groaned. The girl did have that name.

Looney, even she had heard a few of her housemates calling her, and it had all stopped suddenly during the initial days.

And now she wondered if it really was so simple?

And then, they made small talk as they headed to the stands and waited for the match to start.

.

.

.

The atmosphere was not nearly as deafening as it had been during the Gryffindor and Slytherin match. Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff did have a rivalry but it was nothing like the rivalry between Slytherin and Gryffindor.

The players were ready, all of them flying on their brooms, while her eyes followed Cassius, who was flying behind his chasers, as Madam Hooch looked to the sides.

"It's about to begin..." Tracey added excitedly as the whistle was blown and the match started.

The players flew in an instant, and House Ravenclaw had the Quaffle. Much to her surprise, Cassius had taken off at full speed and was flying ahead of his chasers. Just as it seemed that he would collide into one of them, she saw him twist his broom slightly as he edged past the chaser, who was clearly rattled by this, as the Ravenclaw team scored.

And then it happened again just as the Hufflepuff had the possession. She saw him appear beside the Chaser, whipping past him before suddenly he stopped himself as a Bludger came and hit the Chaser through his shadow.

And that was how the game continued, as Cassius whizzed through the arena, interrupting Hufflepuff plays and players through his sharp turns and covers, often edging past them, and the offense was all Ravenclaw.

And she had never seen anything like this. She knew a bit about Quidditch, but nothing like this.

"This, my dear, is Active Seeking," Daphne added from the side, probably at seeing her amazement.

"What does it mean?" she asked, not removing her eyes from the stand. It was not the most noble way of playing, but it worked. Ravenclaw scored their eleventh point, putting the score at 110-10, with a hundred-point lead.

"Cassius, unlike most Seekers, does not like staying idle. So, rather than simply staying out of the way and searching for the Snitch, he starts causing a lot of ruckus on the field, interrupting plays and frustrating the opponents," and it was beginning to show as the Hufflepuff suffered a penalty as their beater tried to hit him with a bat.

"But what if the opposing Seeker sees the snitch," and it seemed as if he had, as Cedric Diggory suddenly whipped through the air, accelerating towards a corner of the pitch, when suddenly one of the Ravenclaw beaters appeared infront of him.

"SHOOO!" the crowd booed.

"Peanlty to Ravenclaw!" and that was dirty of them.

"Then that," and the match started again, and after the penalties, the onslaught from Ravenclaw continued, and they dominated the scoring, for it was as if they were playing with four chasers, until suddenly both Diggory and Cassius suddenly broke out into a dive, heading straight for the ground.

"They have seen the snitch," Tracey added excitedly as the whole crowd held his breath, and they were accelerating like mad-men, and were a few feet from the ground when suddenly Diggory pulled out of the dive and yet she saw Cassius whip up his broomstick in an unreal manner as he changed direction while the Ravenclaw House roared in victory.

"AND IT'S A ROUT!"

"RAVENCLAW WINS 340-50," and it was an absolute victory.

And the roars were deafening as Ravenclaw all cheered as they came upon Cassius and began to lift him into the sky.

"He is good, isn't he," Tracey added, as she clapped, and Hermione nodded.

"Because of his jolly nature, people often underestimate him, but that is all just a ploy. For Cassius Malfoy is as cunning a wizard can be," but she was still confused.

"But why not just find the snitch first?" she asked, and it was Daphne who answered.

"Look at the score," and she did.

"Even if he had lost the snitch, they would have still won," Daphne added, and that was true. In Quidditch, it was often thought that the team who captured the snitch won the match. But the snitch was only worth 150 points if a team could get a point differential greater than that.

"That is what he calls an absolute victory..."

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