A long, black tail smacked against the floor. The tile resounded with a boom at the force.

'You aren 't doing it right, ' Draco said, 'at all. '

Ron shot him a glare. 'Then give better instructions! '

For the dozenth time in the last hour, Ron held out his hand to Egg. Instead of gently resting her snout on his palm, as Draco had demonstrated, the Norwegian Ridgeback merely eyed Ron. Her tail whapped against the floor again. When she puffed out a breath, a plume of smoke came with it.

'You 're annoying her. '

'You 're

annoying

me. '

Slam!

Ron and Draco both jumped, quibbling coming to a dead stop immediately.

At the desk, Hermione slammed her book shut and turned to face them with a severe look. 'Can 't you two just get along, already? I 'm trying to read here. '

Draco scowled. 'You 're reading

my

book, Gryffindor. At least be grateful! '

'I 'm

trying

to read your book. ' She sniffed. 'It 's only just impossible with all your bickering in the background. '

A Study of Draconic Creatures

sat on the desk, protected by Hermione 's hovering hands. The text was positively ancient 'pages yellowing and spine broken. To be written by the famed wizard Merlin, it would have to be. But, despite having been dated hundreds of years earlier, the book was well cared for. Ron could rant day and night about how evil the Malfoy family was, but it was undeniable they took good care of their books.

Hermione had read through about a quarter of it already, slowed down by Merlin 's dense, outdated vocabulary and the sound of quarreling children. She wished, privately, that she had the same kind of command Dazai seemed to wield effortlessly. He 'd clap his hands and silence a crowd; say one word and receive a thousand eager answers. Hermione didn 't have that kind of charisma.

What she had was her books, and the books had her.

Right now, she had Draco 's book.

'It says in chapter four that dragons are very receptive to the emotions of those around them, ' she recited. 'Perhaps Egg doesn 't respect you because of all your yelling. Anger isn 't something worth respecting. '

'What about

condescension

, then? ' Ron asked, snappish. 'The two of you seem to have that in bounds. '

Hermione sighed. 'Ron, just try calming down a bit. ' When Draco snorted, she turned to him. 'And Draco, quit provoking Ron. We 'll never finish this up if you're always bullying him. '

Draco sneered, a biting remark poised on his tongue.

But then, to Hermione 's surprise, Draco 's didn 't bark back. Instead, his shoulders fell and he looked away, silent.

She blinked. That was... an odd reaction for the usually high-and-mighty Malfoy.

Beside him, Ron held out his hand again. He waited, palm up.

Waited, and waited...

'That Merlin bloke didn 't know what he was talking about. This isn 't working at all. '

Hermione rested her hand on

A Study of Draconic Creatures

, offended on the book 's behalf.

Then, once again to Hermione 's shock, Draco jumped to the book 's defense before she could, 'The Great Merlin knew all there was to know about dragons. My father wouldn 't have given me a worthless book. Maybe you 're just too stupid to read it yourself. '

'What kind of insult is that coming from a

Malfoy?

Don't you just

buy

all of your

grades? '

'I get my grades by being smart 'which is more than anyone can say for you! '

'You '! '

'Boys! ' Hermione commanded again.

Only, without the slamming of a book to punctuate her voice, it had little impact.

Ron and Draco continued to snap back and forth at one another. It was clear they weren 't going to be stopping anytime soon. Once again, Hermione wished she had the skill to channel Dazai. Seeming to sense it was pointless, Egg let out another smoky breath before flapping her wings. She silently retreated to her nest of pillows.

With all of their bickering, Ron and Draco didn 't seem to have even noticed.

Hermione sighed. She cast a longing glance to Merlin 's book, but there was no way she could focus with all the '

'I don 't even know why Dazai lets you be here! '

'Speak for yourself! '

Hermione pinched the bridge of her brow. 'Really, you two... '

Ron crossed his arms, defensive. 'This is pointless, anyway. Let 's just tell everyone we 're buddy-buddy now and be done with it. '

'Gladly, ' Draco sniffed, turning his chin up. With one hand braced against the floor, he pushed himself to his feet. Ron followed not a second after, looking annoyed with himself for not being the one to storm off first. 'I 'd rather be practicing for quidditch tryouts than wasting my time here with you. They 're only a few days away, and I 'd like to work in a few extra practices, first. '

Ron stopped half-way to a biting remark. Surprise lit his eyes, followed quickly by anger. 'You 're trying out for the Slytherin team? '

Draco paused.

A second later, realization lit his face. 'Don 't tell me you 're trying for Gryffindor. Quidditch doesn 't need another Weasley. '

'You 're just afraid to lose to three Weasleys at once! '

'So confident you 'll make the team? ' Draco raised a brow, sounding amused. He looked Ron up and down. 'I wouldn 't be. '

'Well, at least I 'm not just planning to buy my spot on the team! '

'I'll have you know '! '

Slam!

Again, they both jumped, startling to face Hermione at the desk. She had slammed the book again 'taking the extra effort to pick it up and throw it down. That seemed to be the only way to get everyone 's attention. Hermione patted the book in silent thanks for its service. Books had many, many uses, after all.

'Neither

of you are going to make the quidditch teams like this, ' she told them with a pointed look each. 'Quidditch is all about teamwork. You two can 't go even a second without your wand hands getting twitchy! '

Draco shook his head, annoyance flashing in his eyes. 'That Isn't the same thing. '

'It is, ' she leveled him with a glare. 'And ' ' Hermione blinked, looking from Ron to Draco once again. It looked like a fire had been lit under them. That was something she could work with. Because wealth and blood feuds were a little out of her wheelhouse. But quidditch? She could work with that. 'And I 'm going to prove it to you! '

Ron snorted. 'What do you know about teamwork, 'Mione?

Reading

isn 't exactly a two-man sport! '

'Maybe, but I 've read dozens of books on quidditch. By the end of the week, I 'll have you two working so well together, people will think you 've played quidditch side-by-side for years! '

Having set her course, Hermione got to her feet. She grabbed

A Study of Draconic Creatures

and held it at her chest. The boys blinked, confused by her sudden shift. She started across the room.

'Er,

where are you going? '

'Not up to the job, Gryffindor? '

Hermione sniffed. Suddenly, she whirled on her heels to face them. 'Working in here is only stressing Egg and me out. I have a better idea. ' She punctuated her next sentence with a pointed finger their way. 'Grab your flying brooms 'we're practicing quidditch. Together, as one team. '

Draco and Ron gaped. From her nest, Egg seemed to snicker.

'You can 't be serious, ' Draco deadpanned.

'I 'll knock him right off his broom if he even looks at me! '

Well...

This would either be a gang-saving miracle, or a catastrophic disaster.

Either way, Hermione thought, it was better than sitting cooped up in this room all week. She couldn 't take even one more minute of their bickering 'it was only Tuesday and her ears were already ringing from it.

-

For Dazai, classes tended to blend together.

After all, he was barely permitted to participate in most of them. Lately, he 'd at least tried to find some entertainment in using his new-found Magical Sensitivity 'feeling out the nuances in different spells, or trying to sense them from across the room. But all that had learned Dazai was that every transfiguration spell was annoyingly identical, and that Neville was really bad at charms.

The only class that was unchanged from the previous year was History of Magic. And, well... if Dazai slept through that class, it wouldn 't make any difference. He

had

slept through it multiple times. Dazai didn 't think Professor Binns had even noticed.

Actually 'scratch that. Professor Binns was barely cognizant of

anyone

in his class. Dazai didn 't think the ghostly professor was still entirely present.

The only exception to this rule was, without a doubt, Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Though not for a lack of trying. The class itself was a complete bore 'they spent more time talking about Lockhart 's hair-care routine than they did defensive spells. Everything about the class had Dazai rolling his eyes and sharing exasperated looks with Blaise.

What made Defense Against the Dark Arts different wasn 't the lessons.

No 'it was how Lockhart was constantly calling on Dazai, poking fun at him, and turning the class against him.

Case in point...

'Dazai will read the next passage, ' Lockhart announced, turning his full attention onto the mafioso. Amusement danced in his eyes. 'I 'm sure you 'll find that this

Rambling Warrick

character fits you quite well. Not very smart, but plenty conniving. If you would just read his lines for us, now. '

Dazai raised a brow. He made a show of looking down at his empty desk. 'You know I didn 't bring my book, professor. '

'Still intent on wasting your classmates ' time? ' Lockhart tutted.

'I could say the same to you. '

A few tittering laughs filled the room at that. But, seeing as it was the

Demon Student

who told the joke, the laughter died off quickly. An awkward silence took its place.

Lockhart sighed, sounding deeply aggrieved. It may have convinced Dazai, if not for the professor 's expectant and obnoxious tone. 'Now, now. No need to lash out. ' Dazai rolled his eyes. 'Come on up to the front of the room. I 'll let you read from my book. ' Then, as an aside to the rest of the class, he added, 'I know, I know. Aren 't I generous? '

The students were silent in response. Dazai lifted his chin to peer around Blaise 's stack of books. He met Lockhart 's gaze head-on. 'Aren 't you worried, letting me so close to you? ' He asked, unimpressed with Lockhart 's condescending grin. 'I mean, I could stab you. '

Blaise elbowed him under the table.

'I won 't stab you, ' Dazai amended, clearly as an afterthought. 'But you shouldn 't want to risk it. '

Silence.

Lockhart stared at him, eyes wide. For a second, he didn 't say anything. Then, he cleared his throat. 'Y-yes, well. You

are

something of a brute. I suppose a demon can 't peacefully take instruction. ' He shuffled in place, obviously nervous. Dazai smirked, not even bothering to hide his amusement.

Seeing this, Lockhart 's ever-present smile briefly fell into a scowl. 'Write that down, class!

A demon can 't do anything without resorting to violence

'this will be on the test next week! '

At the front of the room, Hermione hastily wrote in her notes.

Dazai slumped forward into his palm.

'Well, well... ' Lockhart continued, 'since our demon won 't read this passage, I suppose I 'll have to assign it as homework. So sorry, everyone. I really try my best for you all, but some people just can 't be reasoned with. '

Complaints rose up around the room. Only a few familiar faces remained quiet 'Dazai spotted Draco, Ron, and Hermione among them. Pansy protested the loudest.

'They 'll get over themselves, ' Blaise said to him, under his breath.

Dazai shrugged. 'It doesn 't matter. I don 't need anyone here to like me. '

'But it would be nice to be liked, wouldn 't it? ' Blaise asked. He didn 't seem to be expecting an answer when he continued, 'Anyway, I don 't think you should keep antagonizing everyone like this. You could get hurt. '

Dazai rolled his shoulders, stooping into himself. Sure enough, more than half the students present had turned in their seats to glare daggers at him. Lockhart, although he was now keeping his focus steadfastly elsewhere, looked pleased with how the situation had turned out. No one in this school 'staff or student 'was blind to how Dazai was widely regarded. He only had the Daily Prophet to thank for that.

'Can 't be helped, ' Dazai grumbled into his palm.

Blaise paused to consider that for a second. Then, he sighed. 'I don 't like the thought of you getting hurt. ' He glanced to Lockhart, then back to his desk. The notes in front of Blaise were mostly neat and rigid, but sketchy doodles of owls lined the edges 'courtesy of Dazai 's wandering quill. 'Are we meeting in the Hounds ' office after class? '

Dazai shook his head. 'I was going to head to the library. ' He wouldn 't be able to sneak into the restricted section in the middle of the day, but Dazai still didn 't think books on the Sensing Stone would be that difficult to find before lunch. 'But you 're welcome to check on Draco, Ron, and Hermione if you want. They should be there. '

'That 's all for today, class! '

Dazai and Blaise looked up to see Lockhart, waving his students off. He sorted a stack of papers on his desk, and looked inordinately pleased with himself when Neville bid him a good afternoon.

Across the room, Ron, Hermione, and Draco silently gravitated towards one another. They very carefully didn 't meet one another 's eyes. Dazai and Blaise watched them walk out together, looking more like a group of strangers than friends.

'See? There they go, ' Dazai said, listless.

Blaise sighed as he stood. 'I 'll catch up with them. '

'Tell Draco I say 'hi. ' ' With the other boy still avoiding him, Dazai had been unable to do so himself since their gang meeting the other day. The others were significantly easier to snag a word with.

'Sure, ' Blaise said. He watched, wordless, as Dazai rose to his feet as well.

Dazai raised a questioning brow, but Blaise only shook his head.

'Good luck with your research. '

Dazai slung his bookbag over his shoulder. 'Thanks. Try not to let those three hurt one another too badly. '

Blaise merely shrugged, as though the idea hadn 't even occurred to him. 'They 'll be fine. '

Dazai agreed. They needed a good shove in the right direction, but he knew they would make a fine trio someday. After all, he had seen first-hand Draco and Ron working together before. In the meantime, Hermione and Blaise would help to keep things peaceable.

With a quick farewell, Blaise left. Dazai watched him turn out of the room in the same direction those three took earlier. When Dazai looked back to the classroom, he found it empty save for himself and Lockhart.

Just my luck.

Lockhart took a long, swinging step forward and opened his mouth to speak.

'Do we have to talk? ' Dazai asked before Lockhart could even get one word in. He made a show of readjusting his bag.

Lockhart tutted, but didn 't come any closer. It almost looked like, to Dazai 's perceptive eye, the man was half-cowering behind a desk. The confident charm on his lips wasn 't nearly as convincing, given this. 'No need to be so hostile. I merely wanted to thank you for your performance! '

Dazai frowned.

'That bit about stabbing me? Genius! ' Lockhart laughed. 'That will be a great line for my book '

the Demon Student threatened my life; the entire class of innocent little children huddling behind me for safety... '

Dazai couldn 't help it 'he rolled his eyes. Everything about Lockhart was cartoonish. Here he was, hiding behind a desk while professing his own heroics. Dazai laughed, dry and bitter. 'If you say so. I was only being honest. '

Lockhart 's golden smile wavered for just a second. He recovered quickly. 'N-now, as for next class! I have a few pointers. If, perhaps, you could direct some of these threats to your classmates. A true villain targets the weak, not the strong 'myself, I mean. And, really, you do threaten me quite a lot. It 's getting a little stale now. '

'You just want to jump to someone 's rescue. '

Lockhart 's laugh echoed. 'Everyone appreciates having a hero come to their aid! Especially by a hero so handsome. '

'Others, ' Dazai countered, deadpan, 'prefer to be left alone. '

'Exactly! ' Lockhart clapped. 'Why don 't you pick on one of the quieter students?

...Ah!

Mr. Longbottom is awfully jumpy. He would make a perfect damsel in distress for me to rescue. '

Dazai hummed. He took a step towards the exit. When Lockhart made no move to stop him, Dazai braced a hand against the door. 'I wouldn 't make a good villain if I just did everything the hero asked of me, ' he said. Though Dazai 's voice was baked in amusement, he was anything but.

Lockhart was slimy and obnoxious. Unlike Mori, however, he didn 't hide behind sinister lies or manipulative comments. No 'Lockhart was blunt and to the point. If Lockhart wanted Dazai to act like the villain to his hero, he would simply say as much. Dazai was less than impressed. Unfortunately, just trying to ignore the persistent man didn 't seem to be yielding any results for Dazai. And threatening Lockhart with bodily harm only stood to write Lockhart 's book for him.

Dazai 's biggest enemy to date was an imbecilic narcissist. It was like talking to a wall.

Lockhart sighed, sounding just as aggrieved as Dazai silently felt. He took a waltzing step forward, but held a chair out in front of him as if for protection. 'Come now. Imagine the papers! The headlines! You 'd be right on the first page 'beside me, of course. Every child your age dreams of celebrity status. '

'I 'm already on the front page of every paper. '

Unfortunately. And the word 'celebrity ' didn 't really apply to Dazai so much as 'enemy of the people ' did.

'And what are you doing with it? Making yourself a ghost amongst your peers! ' Lockhart 's expression was pitying. 'My advice? Do an interview. Sign some autographs 'a lot of kids these days find the bad boy type attractive. '

'I don 't care. '

'Oh!

I know! ' He snapped. 'I 'll set some interviews up for you! As long as you drop my name once or twice, of course.

'Gilderoy Lockhart is my greatest competition... always foiling my evil schemes... '

something like that would do nicely. '

Dazai kicked the door all the way open. He couldn 't take much more of this. Lockhart was grating in a way few people could manage. At least when Quirrell cornered him, the man wouldn 't look so satisfied with himself about it. Dazai turned on his heel. 'Okay. If I don't leave now, I really

will

stab you."

'W-wait! '

Dazai barely spared the professor a glance.

'I wrote you a script 'hold on! ' Lockhart floundered. The sound of scattering papers and fallen quills echoed whatever the man was doing. Dazai finally relented, turning to see Lockhart bent over his desk, tossing papers around in search of ' 'Here it is! ' He waved a thick stack of papers around in one hand. It must have been dozens of pages long. 'A nice long villain's monologue! I thought your dialogue has been a bit lacking. Read this out during dinner today, will you? '

Dazai blinked. Lockhart couldn 't be serious.

He

couldn 't

be.

He...

...He absolutely was that serious.

'You 're an idiot, ' Dazai said, genuine.

Finally finding some ounce of courage, Lockhart beckoned Dazai to him.

Dazai hesitated for only a second (the thought of simply turning to leave now was strong, but the calling urge to burn Lockhart 's script in front of him was stronger). Dazai held his hand out. Lockhart dropped the stack of pages into his palm, looking impressed with himself.

Up close, the script was even more repulsive, somehow.

Line after line about Dazai 's supposed evil plans, some made up tragic backstory, various threats to a certain

'handsome and incredible champion of the people... '

Dazai almost threw up in his mouth. He flipped a page, letting the disgust show on his face.

'It says

'make a villainous sneer '

not

'make a face like you're going to be sick, '

' Lockhart chided.

Dazai frowned.

Then, he did just that.

A villainous sneer.

Dazai was no stranger to those.

He gave Lockhart the most sadistic leer he could manage 'and it was

plenty

villainous. After all, he'd copied it from some of Port Mafia's best torturers. Venom oozed off him, dripping from the shadows of his eyes. the curl of his lips. Dazai's eyes looked blood red in shadow. A smile curved like a crescent moon. Looking at him, it was impossible to mistake him as a harmless twelve-year old. He was a killer all the way through his blood.

Lockhart

squeaked.

It was all very satisfying.

With a quiet chuckle, Dazai turned back to the script. He held the papers slack in his hands, deciding what to do with them while Lockhart boasted to himself.

Hmm...

Burning them did sound fun, but Dazai still couldn 't cast incendio reliably. Maybe a candle..? Dazai glanced to Lockhart 's desk. It was a mess of papers and books, but aside from the chandeliers dangling overhead, bore no sign of fire. Dazai was just contemplating shoving the script down Lockhart 's too-big mouth when something else caught his attention.

Lockhart followed his gaze.

'Ah,

no cheating, now! ' He grabbed a paper off the desk. It was marked over in black and red. Written across the top, the paper read,

'DADA Test #1 Answer Key. '

'Although I appreciate the thought, let 's not go off script, okay? ' Here, he tapped a finger against the monologue. 'Practice this, then we can consider maybe letting you cheat on a test or two. I suppose

stopping a cheating scandal

doesn 't have the same ring to it as

stopping a homicidal demon,

but it might add some flavor in the middle chapters... '

Lockhart turned away, mumbling to himself.

Dazai 's eyes flashed to the test key once more before he finally backed away and left the room. Lockhart could plot his book on his own time. Anyway, Dazai had no desire to listen to the professor 's attempt at scripting out all of their interactions any further.

' 'and after I defeat you in chapter seven...

Hey! Where are you going? I haven 't told you off yet about skipping our detention last weekend '! '

Dazai slammed the door at his back.

Good riddance!

Luckily, by the time Dazai finally managed to squirm out of Lockhart 's room the hallway was completely empty. The other students must have been either hanging around their common rooms or on their way to lunch by now.

Dazai sighed and shoved the script harshly into his robe 's inner pocket. He had wanted to do some research, but that conversation with Lockhart had put him in too foul a mood. It was too difficult to focus with such a negative mood clouding over his thoughts. Lockhart was just too awful, making no efforts to mask his desire to control Dazai 's every action.

Maybe Dazai should hunt down the twins instead. They always knew how to cheer him up...

Thinking this, Dazai turned a corner in the direction of the Gryffindor common rooms.

Or... what he

thought

was the right direction.

After about five minutes of wandering, it became abruptly clear that Dazai had taken a wrong turn somewhere. The halls of Hogwarts stretched on before him, unfamiliar and familiar at the same time.

Illogical.

Dazai looked around for a painting. In the past, they had helped him to find his way. Hopefully, now would be no different.

But after another minute of searching, only blank walls answered his search. Slumping forward, Dazai considered just giving up.

'What an awful place to die in, ' he grumbled. 'And it 'll be days before starvation sets in, too... '

'What are you talking about? '

Dazai blinked out of his thoughts, perking up. Someone else was here! Even if they hated him, they would give him instructions on how to get to the Gryffindor common rooms. Fear was a great motivator like that. Except '

'Snooping around in random corridors, you must be up to no good. ' Pansy sneered. 'Figures. '

First Lockhart, now Pansy. Today was cursed from the start.

'I 'm lost, ' Dazai said, smiling. 'We 're friends, Pansy. You remember how I always get lost. '

'Ugh, '

she made a face. 'We were never friends. Don 't even say something like that. '

Dazai opened his mouth to make some bullying remark when, suddenly, a body of students came around the corner and swarmed around Pansy 's shoulders. There must have been a dozen of them.

Apprehension immediately shivered up Dazai 's spine.

Dazai recognized some of them 'Crabbe and Goyle, for one. He also spotted the two students who ran into him on the train among the group, Millicent and Tracey. Dazai frowned upon realizing that the mob of people surrounding Pansy ranged from first years to seventh years and they wore colors from every house. The only thing the group all had in common were their matching looks of scathing hatred.

It was pointed directly at Dazai.

'Ah... '

Dazai stood straight, shoulders snapping into a stiff line. Trepidation filled his chest. 'This doesn 't look good. '

Pansy scoffed. 'Drop the act, Dazai. I knew you were bad news from the very beginning. Now that everyone else has finally opened their eyes to your nonsense, I can do something about it. '

Dazai 's eyes flicked to the mob again. A fifth-year student Dazai vaguely recognized gripped their wand in their hand 'poised to strike.

'Look at that! Pansy started her own Anti-Dazai club. It 's no Loyalty Club, but I suppose ' '

'Shut up! I don 't want to play your games. '

Dazai 's mouth snapped shut. He sobered his grinning expression, giving Pansy a dull look instead. What remained of Dazai 's playful demeanor withered entirely. 'Then what do you want, Pansy? ' He asked, locking eyes with the other Slytherin. 'I 'm busy. I don 't have time to play politics with you. '

She scowled, fingers flexing around the wand at her side. 'I want you to stop soiling the Slytherin name. I want you to stop soiling Blaise 's name. I want you to drop out. As long as you aren 't

here

, that 's what I want. '

Around her, the mob roared with agreement. Though only the Slytherins seemed to agree with the first half, the overall message was met with raucous encouragement. Cries of, 'murderer! ' and 'demon! ' echoed Pansy 's tirade.

As they jeered, the crowd began to spread out. They formed a wall behind Pansy. No escape.

Dazai stared at Pansy alone. His entire body was a careful mask, telling neither of fear nor concern over the situation. Pansy 's mob wasn 't here just to talk 'that much was obvious. The way they gripped their wands and squared their shoulders told Dazai they were going to make sure their message stuck.

'There 's been a slight misunderstanding, ' Dazai appeased. He held his hands out, nonthreatening. 'I 'm not doing anything to damage this school or anyone in it. I 'll just be on my way ' '

Except when Dazai took a step back, he immediately bumped into something solid. He jumped, then spun to face whatever he 'd run into. 'At some point during the conversation, Crabbe and Goyle must have walked around him. Now, the two Slytherins towered over Dazai 's shoulders, caging him in.

'Ah... '

Suddenly, Goyle reached out to grab him.

Dazai reacted quicker, pinching Goyle's index finger from the air and twisting it back.

Goyle shouted and tried to pull away, but Dazai was fast and dangerous. The finger groaned under him. It bent back obscenely and '

Something yanked Dazai back before he could break the finger.

Crabbe wore a brutish scowl on his face when, abruptly, he clapped a meaty palm down on Dazai 's shoulders. He squeezed, trapping Dazai in place. Dazai gave a testing shove, but was unable to shake Crabbe off of him.

Meanwhile, Goyle drew away with a pained yelp, clutching his hand to his chest and wearing a hurt expression.

Something rankled in his gut.

Between Crabbe 's hand, Goyle 's cracking knuckles, and Pansy 's wand-wielding gang behind him, Dazai was well and truly caged.

'...this is a bit much, isn 't it? ' Dazai asked, eyeing Crabbe, then Pansy.

'You

killed

a teacher. You have no right to talk about doing

too much. '

Pansy countered. When she stepped forward, the mob behind her did as well. Dazai 's cage shuddered smaller. 'You were already a pest when you were just bumbling around at Draco 's back. But I guess having no respect for Hogwarts ' traditions wasn 't enough for you, huh?

Killing a professor.

.. someone like that shouldn 't be here. How long will it be before you decide you want another professor dead? Or a student? One of

us? '

Dazai blinked. It almost seemed as though Pansy was talking more to her gang than she was to him, now.

Behind Pansy, the crowd made sounds of unsteady agreement. But, now that he was looking closer, Dazai realized hatred wasn 't the only thing riling them up. No 'shoulders hiked to their ears, palms sweaty around wands, eyes darting from Dazai to Pansy almost frantically.

Fear,

Mori 's voice echoed in his ear.

They were afraid of him.

It didn 't come as a surprise, really. The Daily Prophet had nothing but horrifying things to say about Dazai. He was a demon, a mindless killer, a follower of the dark arts. It was hardly true, of course. But the Daily Prophet had sway over the entire magical community, and Dazai was the only voice arguing against it.

The Daily Prophet wanted people to fear him.

And fear made people do dangerous things.

But...

Pansy wasn 't afraid.

Her eyes were scathing, burning flames. Her wand hand was steady and her words were condemning. When Pansy leveled him with a glare and said, 'get out of my school, ' she meant it with the strongest of convictions. Her hatred of him was bone deep 'there was nothing superficial about it 'and nothing

fearful

about it.

'Pansy. ' Dazai 's eyes narrowed. 'You know I have no intentions of doing something like that. '

She scoffed. The crowd, similarly, looked unconvinced. 'Do I? I didn 't think you would kill professor Quirrell, yet here we are. '

'Neither did I, ' Dazai grumbled, mostly to himself. 'The Daily Prophet doesn 't know what it 's talking about. I

know

you remember that whole Quirrell situation playing out differently than how the papers reported it. And you know half the things that happen in Hogwarts don 't ever hit the mainstream media. '

The crowd looked to one another, as if trying to parse out Dazai 's words. Pansy, however, merely scowled. He knew what she was thinking: the mountain troll Dazai killed last year, the monster that got loose in the Slytherin common rooms, their secret Loyalty Club room... all things that had gone entirely unreported on. How could the Daily Prophet 's stories be trusted if they were only ever getting a fraction of the truth?

Pansy shook her head, frown deepening. 'I know you 're up to something. You 've been scheming since the very start. '

Dazai twitched at the accusation. Crabbe must have felt it, because a second later the hand on Dazai 's shoulder gave him a rough shove. He tried not to squirm under the hold.

Pansy watched him, hatred simmering in her every motion. Her wand was still held tightly at her side. Good 'Dazai needed to keep it that way. He could handle being berated. Could even handle a punch or two. But Dazai didn 't know what he would do if No Longer Human was revealed in front of all these strangers. They already thought he was a demon 'finding out he had a dangerous ability up his sleeves would only rile the Daily Prophet up more.

While Pansy 's wand was kept in check, however, the mob behind her was not. Their anger was twitchy with panic. Wands shifted from one hand to the other, ready to lash out at any moment.

Taking a deep breath, Dazai hunched his shoulders. He tried to make himself look smaller, less threatening.

Only a few of the students untensed. They would need more reassuring, then.

'I 'm not planning anything. No one is going to get hurt, ' Dazai soothed, speaking directly to the crowd just as Pansy had done moments earlier. They stared at him with wide, disbelieving eyes. Shifting gears, he asked, 'Did Pansy rally you all up and ask you to come here? '

No one responded, but Dazai saw them shifting in place and shooting one another glances.

'Pansy has misled you, ' Dazai told them. "The Daily Prophet has misled you. '

The grip on his shoulder tightened.

'Everyone knows that you 're a threat to Hogwarts 'to everything Hogwarts stands for, ' Pansy growled. Then, she whirled on her followers, who startled to attention, 'only the bravest students agreed to come with me today. Everyone else was so scared you would hurt them for speaking against you. Do you know how many people are terrified of you? I don 't care what the Daily Prophet says or doesn 't say 'no one feels safe with a killer here! '

'R-right! '

'I can 't sleep with him in the same room as me! '

'Any one of us could be next! '

The crowd roared with agreement.

Again, Crabbe yanked Dazai back to keep him in place. This was getting way out of hand 'Dazai needed to put an end to this before either No Longer Human was revealed or Pansy started a full-scale mutiny against him.

Rather than rising to the crowd 's level of shouting, Dazai raised a single hand. It silenced them immediately.

It was no use trying to mollify the mob. Their fear had blinded them to reasoning.

No 'he'd strike for its head. Kill the beast at its leading point, and the rest would crumble beneath it.

Dazai leveled Pansy with a stabbing stare.

'The only flaw in your reasoning, Pansy, is that

you

aren 't afraid of me. '

Pansy 's eyes snapped to him. 'The hell are you talking about? No one wants you out of this school more than me. '

'Sure. ' Dazai tried to shrug, but found he could no longer lift his shoulders with how tightly he was being held. 'But not because you 're afraid of that hoax 'demon ' story. In fact, I 'd wager that you know I 'm not a danger to anyone in Hogwarts. The only one here I 'm a threat to is

you. '

Pansy bristled. Her hand fisted around her wand, tensing but not rising to strike. Yet. 'I 'm not afraid of you because I 've seen how pathetic at magic you really are. '

'Be honest, Pansy, ' Dazai sighed. 'Aren 't you just still jealous that Blaise and Draco like

me

more than they like

you? '

'Shut up! '

Bulls-eye,

Dazai thought.

Pansy 's outraged screech was the only answer Dazai received. For a brief moment, everything was still. Then '

Goyle raised his fist and swung.

Dazai 's head snapped to the side. White hot pain bloomed across his left cheek and he stumbled away from the hit. It was only Crabbe 's hand on his shoulder that kept Dazai from tumbling to the floor. In his mouth, Dazai tasted blood. It took a second for him to regain his bearings, vision swimming from the punch. He blinked several times.

Dazai 's eyes flashed to Pansy. She was breathing fast, body thundering with each gasp. Her knuckles were white around her wand. What was angry before was now enraged.

Slowly, Dazai raised a hand to his cheek. He winced at the sting, but Crabbe 's fist didn 't appear to have broken the skin. It would definitely bruise, though.

The taste of iron drowned out Dazai 's senses from where he 'd bit his tongue. He swirled the blood and mucus in his mouth then spat. Blood splattered out across the tile floor, so deep and dark it was almost black.

A ripple of unease rolled through the mob at Pansy 's back.

'Ow, '

Dazai grunted. 'If you 're going to kill me, make it quick. I don 't like pain. '

Finally, he up-righted himself. Crabbe tugged him again, and Dazai wobbled into place. When a dribble of blood rolled down his chin, the mafioso smeared it off on the back of his hand.

'You don 't know what you're talking about, ' Pansy 's words were acrid in the air. 'You 're manipulating Draco and Blaise just like you're trying to manipulate us now. '

The other students shifted nervously on their feet. Dazai glanced to them briefly, but turned away when they reeled back in trepidation.

Dazai stared Pansy down with half-lidded eyes instead.

Most children, Dazai thought, would at this point begin to cry.

Or beg. Or feel at least the slightest hint of panic at what was to come. Would the blows continue? Would the jeers ever stop? Why does everything have to hurt all the time? At this point, a normal child might turn to desperate pleas of forgiveness. Otherwise, they may fall entirely silent, thinking,

if I stop reacting, maybe they 'll just leave me alone.

But the swell of blood in Dazai 's mouth filled him with nothing more than an unbearable exhaustion.

Hogwarts wasn 't any different than the Port Mafia back home. It was all classless, brute force no matter where he went. Father 's fist or Goyle 's. Mori 's smile or Lockhart 's.

'Pansy, ' Dazai said with a dull voice, 'I don 't care enough about you to want to manipulate you. '

Her eyes widened. A tremor of muted conversation rolled through the crowd behind her. Pansy stammered for a second before biting out, 'I don 't believe you. Anyone with half a brain cell can see you 're no good. Since the very start, you 've done nothing but make trouble for the people around you. '

'Who cares about any of that. '

Crabbe yanked his shoulder back. Dazai let himself be rag-dolled, uncaring. At his other side, Goyle grabbed his other arm. The grip was oppressive. Dazai couldn 't fight back if he wanted to.

'I can 't believe Dumbledore even let you back this year. '

Dazai watched as, slowly, Pansy lifted her wand.

It pointed at his chest, as volatile and focused as a gun.

The magic in the air burst into action, swirling around the wand 's pointed tip. Dazai could feel it even from a distance 'a jumble of magical sensation.

Shit.

Once she formed the spell 's cast on her lips, it would all be over.

The spell nullified, No Longer Human revealed '!

He could kick back and break Goyle 's knee. That might buy him a second to dodge...

Dazai lifted his leg.

'This 'll teach you to keep to yourself ' '

'What in Salazar 's name is happening here? '

Crabbe and Goyle startled, dropping their holds on Dazai immediately.

He stumbled, falling forward on a half-raised foot. The second Dazai was able, he took a step away from them, but the band around his chest didn 't loosen. Pansy jumped as well, fumbling with her wand. It clattered noisily on the floor, then rolled several feet away from her.

Silence reigned across the gathered crowd as everyone 's eyes snapped to far end of the hall.

Gemma.

The Slytherin prefect and upperclassmen stared the mob down with a severe expression and mouth agape.

She radiated a mix of outrage and stupefaction.

'Gemma! ' Pansy jumped, clearly not expecting the prefect to be here. 'We were just having a talk with Dazai '

the Demon Student.

You know how awful he is! '

Gemma stared for a long second before shaking her head. Any surprise on her face was wiped away, only a cold stare remaining now. Her eyes flicked across the corridor, taking everything in. The more she looked, the darker her expression grew.

Dazai wondered what type of scene they all must have made: Pansy 's wand thrown aside, a body of angry students at her back while two meatheads stood guard over Dazai 's shoulder. The bruise on Dazai 's face. The blood on the floor.

'This doesn 't look like a

talk

to me, ' Gemma said as her shoes

tap-tap-tapped

across the tile floor. She stopped only once she was positioned directly between Dazai and Pansy 'evidently having correctly identified them as the primary instigators. 'This looks like a

duel

. ' She glanced Dazai 's way, eyes lingering over Crabbe and Goyle for a second. Something flashed in her eyes. 'And not a fair one, either. You two ' ' Gemma jerked her head ' 'get away from him. '

Crabbe and Goyle froze. They cast an asking glance to Pansy, before seeming to decide better of it. They ducked around Dazai as fast as their legs would permit. Gemma watched them with a careful eye as they both took shelter at Pansy 's shoulders.

'Good, ' Gemma said, serious. Now, with everyone unable to maim one another any further, she took another second to carefully assess the situation. Thoughtful eyes raked over Pansy, her mob, then Dazai in turn. She lingered over Dazai for a too-long second. Whatever she made of his slouching, bruised form, Gemma didn 't say. She shook her head and reeled on Pansy a second later. 'You can all leave. I 'll have a word with Dazai, then we 'll consider this mess settled. '

Dazai shrugged himself fully upright.

Pansy seemed to disagree. 'You can 't be serious! ' She squawked, snatching her wand from the floor. It was only after a pointed look from Gemma that she returned it to her cloak rather than pointing it Dazai 's way again. 'Gemma! He 's ' '

'I know who he is, ' Gemma silenced her with a raised hand. 'I 'll take care of it. You and your...

group

... can leave, now. '

'Gemma... '

'Pansy, ' the prefect said, serious. 'I understand that this situation is very complicated. Because of that, I 'm electing to handle this internally 'between you, me, Dazai, and your friends here. But if this situation were any less politically charged 'and if you take it even one step further 'I will not hesitate to bring the staff into this. You understand that, as a prefect, that is my

actual

prerogative. '

Pansy drew in a shaking breath, anger just below the surface. She stared at Gemma for a long few seconds before, finally, snapping her head to the side. Gemma 's merciful offer was too kind to turn down. '

Fine

, ' she bit the word out one letter at a time. 'I 'll leave. '

The crowd at her back shifted. Pansy whirled on them.

'We 're leaving. Can 't you people listen?! '

They jumped, but made quick work of scampering out of Pansy 's way after that. Not even a minute passed before the hallway, once crowded and cramped, was empty. Pansy cast a single, parting glare Dazai 's way before leaving as well.

With only the two of them remaining, Dazai suddenly found he could breathe a little easier.

'Are you okay? ' Gemma asked suddenly.

Dazai stared at her, then offered an intentionally shaky grin. 'I 'm fine. '

She didn 't look like she believed him.

It was no wonder, really. 'Caged in and defensive ' had never been a good look on Dazai. Father had once likened him to a feral dog, in instances like this. Times where Dazai could do nothing but make do with being held down and hurt. Wearing a sharp look on his face, eyes sunken and spine curled in. Dazai looked the picture of damaged goods just one second away from breaking apart entirely. Mori had smiled and said his 'feral puppy ' look was actually quite adorable, to which Dazai had promptly responded,

'if I have to be your dog, then I 'll bite you. '

Mori 's resulting amusement was not at all warranted.

Thankfully, Gemma didn 't share any of Mori 's fawning proclivities. Instead, she merely gave him a quick once-over, then said, 'If you 're hurt too badly, go to the infirmary. '

Dazai raised a brow. At the same time, he ran a hand across his robes to smooth out any wrinkles. Crabbe and Goyle hadn 't been kind to the fabric. Dazai suspected his rumpled clothes were only making him look more pathetic. Though it might benefit him here for Gemma to continue viewing him as a victim, he would still have to clean up before going to lunch.

'If I do that, Madam Pomfrey will find out what happened. ' He smiled wryly. 'I thought you wanted to keep the staff out of this? '

Gemma sighed. 'While I would rather not start a whole fuss over this incident, ' she eyed Dazai, 'I won 't stop you. '

Dazai closed his eyes in thought. They

all

benefited from keeping quiet about Pansy 's... attack. If the Daily Prophet caught wind of this, they would only turn the story on its head. Dazai would get more press he didn 't want. The Slytherin name would further be trampled through the mud. Hogwarts would have to make a statement, which would inevitably force them to publicly decide if the Demon Student maybe should be expelled, after all.

Word would reach Lucius and Mori. If they thought Dazai had lost a duel, their deal might fall through.

When Dazai opened his eyes, Gemma was anxiously waiting for an answer one way or the other.

'It 's nothing a little make-up can 't cover, ' Dazai said after a long moment.

Gemma nodded, looking a little relieved at that answer. 'I don 't know the healing spell, or I 'd mend that bruise myself. I 'm sorry. ' She sounded genuinely apologetic.

Dazai shook his head. It wouldn 't have worked on him, anyway.

'I 'll manage, ' he said, lightly. Dazai had considered, briefly, telling Gemma something along the lines of,

'it 's okay 'the pain will remind me not to cause any more trouble, '

but quickly decided against it. He wasn 't sure something like that would be received nearly as well at Hogwarts as it would in Yokohama.

Gemma stared at him for a moment, as if trying to read his thoughts. But Dazai took pride in being incomprehensible. She wouldn 't find anything.

After a second, Gemma seemed to reach the same conclusion and her shoulders dropped in defeat.

Dazai took pity on her. 'You wanted to have a word with me? ' It couldn 't just be to check on his well-being. She didn 't need to send Pansy away for something trivial like that.

She sighed. 'I 'll get straight to point. ' Gemma cleared her throat, preparing for what she was going to say next. 'My job, first and foremost, as a prefect is to take care of the students. Despite what everyone has to say about you being some kind of demon, you 're a Slytherin student first. '

Dazai nodded. He remembered speaking with Gemma last year during the

'oops-my-pet-dragon-got-loose '

incident. Keeping the students safe had been her main priority then, as well.

'So I won 't sit idly by when you 're being hurt. I'll do my job as a prefect and keep the peace between Pansy... between

everyone

and you. ' She paused. Dazai could feel a

'but '

coming...

'But, '

she said, 'if for even one second you think about hurting your classmates, it 's over. I don 't care what the Daily Prophet has to say about you 'you really

could

be a demon for all I care. But keep your claws to yourself. '

Dazai laughed. 'And then you 'll loose Pansy and her wolves after me? '

'And then I 'll have you expelled. '

Dazai blinked.

Gemma was really serious about her job. Lucky for them both, Dazai really had no intentions of harming any of the students here unless backed into a far corner. And, despite his threats, he also had no designs of maiming Lockhart (regrettably).

'Scary, ' he keened. Then, he raised his hands, appeasing. 'I 'll watch my claws. I wasn 't planning anything like that, anyway. '

Gemma 's eyes briefly flicked to Dazai 's gloved hands. For just a second, wariness flashed in her eyes 'as though wondering if he really

was

hiding monstrous claws below the leather.

He wasn 't, of course. No Longer Human was far more dangerous.

'Good, ' she said haltingly. 'Let 's keep it that way. '

Except '

Lucius ' test for the Port Mafia was still an unknown. Somewhere nearby, sometime soon, Dazai would be faced with this test 'this show of power. And once those cards fell into place, Dazai would do whatever it took to pass. If that meant hurting a few students here and there...

Well, Dazai would just have to get his hands dirty.

-

'It 's scary, '

Ginny wrote. Below her quill, the diary 's paper was fine and soft. It was of high make 'not something a Weasley should have been able to afford. She was lucky to find it, tucked away with her other books after returning home from Flourish and Blotts.

'Without Mom here to stand up for me. And my brothers all have their own friends, too. I think they like Dazai more than they like me. We 're family! Isn 't that cruel? It 's like I 'm all alone here. '

'You have me, Ginny, '

the diary wrote back, ink black as tar.

'You won 't ever be alone again. '