Harry Potter and the Descent into Madness

Chapter 1: Doubt part 10

Life isn't going easily for me at the moment. I'm nineteen now, and one of my siblings is dealing with mental health problems. Things are uncertain, but I'm still going to try to update regularly.

Previously, Matt, the half-dragon, broke all the unspoken rules of Hogwarts and sat with the Slytherins. What will result of this? Will Draco find a friend? If he does, what would that mean for Harry?

"No!" His voice resounds around the room. "If it came down to it, I would rather sit with those venomous snakes at the Slytherin table than sit anywhere close to you," The Ravenclaw manages to sink so much bitterness and venom into that one word that everyone else flinches.

Matt stares at the Ravenclaw for a moment before replying. "Fine. That will make things difficult at the next family reunion, but ..." He shrugs and leaves, grinning.

He swiftly moves to the Gryffindor table. Then he quickly grabs a Gryffindor student and drags him to the Slytherin table. He sits the student, whose name is Neville Longbottom (I'm fairly certain), between him and me.

Outraged cries from the Gryffindor table erupt as the Slytherins begin to complain endlessly. Whispers continue from Hufflepuff, and the Ravenclaws host an angry conversation amongst them.

Matt ignores them all. "So, Neville, I hear you're into herbology?"

Polite conversation. Matt upset the balance of Hogwarts, chose to defy tradition, and he's conversing politely among a table of Slytherins? Neville blinks, "Um, yeah."

"Cool," Matt replies, stretching out the word as if testing it for the first time. "I've wanted to be a med mage for a while. I've been looking into the healing properties of various herbs. I was ..." He pauses, looking nervous. "wondering if you had anything to say about it."

"Oh?" Neville glances around the table nervously. He says, "Wel-"

"What did you mean," Erin interrupts, "By family reunion. I've known Liam for a while. He never mentioned having family here."

"That's because he hates me," Matt replies, nonchalantly, "We're only half-brothers, after all."

Neville bites his lip before piping up with some herbology facts. Erin picks at her food before adding a few more points. Matt talks the whole time, animatedly waving his hands and somehow getting the full platter he helped himself to, inside his mouth. The conversation changes to school classes, and Matt and Erin both make sure to include me. The banquet ends. The last moments a blur. I leave, with Crabbe and Goyle, as Erin goes with the angry Ravenclaw, Liam, and the oddling, Luna. Matt stays in the banquet hall alone.

As I lay in bed that night, I realize that, for the first time in my life, I had fun. Was there more to life than the rules? Than being the perfect Slytherin and Malfoy?

But what about my father. While I was having fun, my father was in Azkaban, and my family was under threat.

My mission, kill Dumbledore. Or everyone I love will pay the price, maybe even these new, unorthodox 'friends'. If that's what they were.