Disclaimer:

"Harry Potter" and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.

I own nothing but the original characters I create.

"Dialogue"

'Thoughts'

-Author notes-

Chapter 143: A Challenge

"Good evening, Lady Parkinson," Harry returned the greeting.

"Please, call me Aurora. No need to be so formal."

"Lady Aurora, then," Harry replied. He couldn't be that informal. "Call me Harry, please."

"Can I call you Harry too?!" Pansy jumped at the opportunity. She didn't like calling him Potter. But in high magical society, you couldn't call someone by their name unless they permitted you. "And you can use my name also!" The girl said enthusiastically.

"Very well… Pansy," Harry said, starting to feel uncomfortable with this interaction.

"By the way, Harry," Lady Parkinson called for his attention. "I truly want to formally thank you for saving my beloved daughter, but I believe my husband wanted to do that first." She glanced at a distant table, and Harry tried to follow her eyes. "He seems to be occupied at the moment, talking with some Lords. Perhaps after dinner?"

"Of course, Lady Aurora," Harry said. He could wait a bit longer to finally meet this man.

"Then, I will leave you children to have some fun and enjoy the party," she made a polite gesture and walked away towards her table.

"Say, Potter," Bulstrode was the first one to speak, once Lady Parkinson was a good distance away.

"Yes?" Harry glanced at the huge girl. He did not know much about her, other than that she had a reputation for being violent.

"Did it feel good to beat up Malfoy in such a way?" she asked, leaning forward.

"I bet it did! Did you see how he wet his robes?" Nott chuckled.

"Yes, we all saw that disgusting display," Tracey covered her nose by reflex at the mere memory.

"He looked completely terrified and embarrassed after that. I was told that he barely left his room for the last week," Zabini added.

"You were so brave and gallant, Harry," Pansy grinned. "No one has ever fought for me in such a way. I was very flattered."

Harry flinched. 'Is that what she thinks happened? That my duel with Draco was just for her?'

It wasn't completely wrong. After all, Malfoy was indeed fighting for her, or more accurately, for her money. But Harry just wanted to be left alone.

"Yes, yes…" Bulstrode rolled her eyes in annoyance. "But I wanted to hear what Potter thought."

"I don't have much to add. I did what I had to do… nothing more," Harry gave her a vague answer.

"Well, I'm glad that you did it," Pansy leaned closer to him, making the other boys frown. "Malfoy has been such an annoyance all year… someone had to put him in his place."

"Can we talk about something else?" Daphne sounded very annoyed.

"Oi, Potter!" Someone called him from the next table.

Harry glanced over and noticed most of the older boys were staring at him with hostile eyes.

The one who spoke right now was the Slytherin Captain, Marcus Flint.

"Is there something you need?" asked Harry.

"I do, actually. First, you should address your seniors with more respect."

"Only when said seniors treat me with the same respect," Harry answered.

Marcus clenched his teeth. "And second, don't get too cocky because you won a duel against a second-year boy."

"That's right, any of us could have done the same," Adrian Pucey said with a mocking tone.

"You are all seniors, while Harry is just a second-year, like Malfoy," Daphne pointed out.

"Watch your mouth, Greengrass, this has nothing to do with you. We are talking to the Gryffindor over here…." Cassius Warrington, the fifth-year chaser, told Daphne, his voice filled with spite. Lord Greengrass had recently rejected his second attempt at an engagement.

"You are Warrington, right?" Harry's voice became colder.

"That's right!" Warrington glared at Harry.

"I'll remember that." He made a mental reminder to keep an eye on this one.

"You know, Potter," Marcus Flint spoke, and didn't dare to interrupt him now, so he had to remain quiet. "We would love to have a few friendly duels with you. We could exchange pointers and maybe give you some advice. Now I know you have been banned from that joke they called the 'Dueling Club,' but we at Slytherin have our own private dueling arena in the dungeons. I could allow you to enter and participate… what do you say?"

"That could be fun, Potter; we could show you what a real duel looks like," Adrian Pucey had a creepy smile on his face.

"Not interested," Harry answered.

At this point, he wasn't sure if all this animosity came because of their loss at Quidditch or because they were also after Pansy Parkinson and they considered him to be in the way.

But it looked like a good opportunity to deal with a few Death Eaters' new recruits.

He knew that at least Warrington and Flint's fathers were some seriously nasty wizards. If this could drag them into a conflict… 'They may have something useful to say if I can get them alone,' he considered.

His reason for refusing Flint's challenge was that it would look strange if a second-year suddenly accepted an offer like that so quickly. And it wasn't like they were going to give up. 'Those guys have made the decision to come after me… let them come.'

"Not interested, you say?" Flint chuckled. He already expected him to say no. But they would find a way to make him accept.

"That's enough, Flint," Pansy got annoyed. "Harry is my guest, and this is my party. If you can't behave…"

Flint raised his hands up. "My apologies, we'll be good. I promise." He said those words, but the anger behind his smile said otherwise.