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You watch her devour the cupcake like a woman starved, then lick the paper it came in. Then she looks at you guiltily.
"Sorry! I forgot to offer! Both of you!"
You laugh. "It's fine. Figured you'd eat while on the job."
"I do, but not this!"
"Well, I'll make sure to remember that you like them so much if I ever make you mad."
"Why would you make her mad?" Apollo asks, and it only <span class="mu-i">slightly</span> feels like a threat.
"Just a figure of speech," you say, waving a hand. "Hey, how did you beat Weasley so bad? You lost, like, three soldiers."
"He thought just his three Gryffindors would be enough. The rest of the army didn't get attention." He stops, for a moment. "Even I gave my army some directions. But I'm me. That was enough that time. Won't be again. I told Potter I didn't want to be a Captain."
"Well, I think you made a fine leader," you say. "Your army almost beat me, and I was trying my damnedest. I know you're really strong, but if you hadn't done something right they wouldn't have followed you. I haven't heard discontent on Slytherin about <span class="mu-i">your </span>army."
There is an awkward silence for a moment. <span class="mu-i">Ah,</span> you think. <span class="mu-i">His strength is probably a sore point between the two, then.</span>
"Weasley thought Gryffindor strength was enough. Longbottom through Ravenclaw brain was enough. I thought <span class="mu-i">I</span> was enough," he says. "You're weaker than the three of us, so you listened to your soldiers. It's fair that you won."
"Ah... Thank you...?" You say, not really sure how to take that. You see Arty give him a gentle elbow to the side.
"Ah. Sorry. That... Did not come out right." His face is contracting in deep effort, as if he is trying to find why exactly he got elbowed and struggling to find the answer. "I... didn't mean to... say that… you're weak...?" He ends the sentence in a question, clearly towards Arty. She nods, satisfied. "Even though you are."
She facepalms.
"So, Elliot!" She says, forcibly changing the subject. "Was that speech you made in the Three Broomsticks a while ago real?"
"Every bit of it," you say, proudly. "If there's something out there, I intend to find it. I'm not sure what I'll do with it, whatever 'it' is, but the first step is finding it. Whatever work I do after Hogwarts will be for that. How about you?"
[Cont]
