Suspicious Newcomer

Chapter 5

Harry arrived to Potions Class ten minutes early due to his hurry to get away from Ron. He slid into his seat and plopped his bag beside him, glancing around to see who else decided to show up earlier. There was a small cluster of Slytherins from the quidditch team standing near the door. Upon closer inspection, Harry saw that they were in a heated argument. Light looked calm, but his hands were clenched into fists and Harry could see veins standing out on his neck. He was speaking very quickly to Mello, who interrupted him, jabbing his finger in Light's face. Light turned away, and Mello looked mutinous.

"Oi!"

Something sharp and hard prodded itself into Harry's left shoulder. He turned to see Ron, looking annoyed.

"Why did you run off, mate?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "If you want to snog Lavender, that's fine. But don't expect me to sit around and watch it."

Ron opened his mouth to retort but he was interrupted by Snape, sweeping into the classroom to collect their Dementor essays.

Later on in class, when Harry and Ron were paired together to work on silent defensive spells, Ron broached the subject again.

"Honestly, it's not me who wants to do the snogging. I mean, I don't mind, but she's not the one I'd-" he cut himself off quickly, crimson spreading across his face.

"Honestly, mate, I don't care." Harry said quickly. "Like I said, I'd just rather not hang around and watch it."

Ron nodded, apparently satisfied. "Well, it's not me who-" he cleared his throat quickly. "Anyway, better get back to it."

After their conversation, Ron remained uncharacteristically quiet for the rest of class. Even when the bell rang, he shoved his wand into his bag and hurried off, half sprinting in his eagerness to get out of the dungeon. Harry followed at a much slower pace, but right before he left the classroom, he was distracted by a shout.

"I'm telling you, it's a great idea!" Mello shouted, slamming a fist on the desk. Light scowled, torn between his discomfort for Mello's blatant expression of emotion and knowledge that if he told him to quiet down, he might get hit.

Snape glanced at the argument, looking as though he wanted to interfere, but once realizing that all students involved were on the Slytherin quidditch team, swept away without a word.

Mello tore into his bag, pulling out a large piece of parchment and gesturing wildly to it. "If we use this strategy, we can win the game by more than ten points!"

"We'll discuss this later." Light said coldly. He turned to leave but was blocked by Lawliet, who had walked over to regard the parchment.

"Hm. I'm surprised Slytherin won at all, considering their dismal strategy." Lawliet said, his thumb grazing his corner lip.

Light's hands clenched, but he forced his temper down with a smile. "I guess we'll have to agree to disagree," he said, with a fake smile.

"Of course," Lawliet continued. "You might be smarter than I thought, Light-kun. After all, you ended the last game with two team members in the hospital wing. At this rate, you can pick off your entire team and start over without any questions being raised. I don't blame you, but I'm surprised at your ruthlessness. Even from you, I think that's kind of co-"

Harry heard a harsh crack and was shoved aside by a furious Light as he left the dungeon. He didn't register what happened, however, until he saw Lawliet crouched over a desk with his hand covering his face.

"I think he broke my nose," Lawliet mumbled. Mello gaped as Light's retreating figure, then stooped to help Lawliet stand.

 Harry was seized with a sudden guilt, as if he was eavesdropping. Shouldering his bag once more, he followed Light out of the dungeon without looking back.