The next day was a formal meeting with the prince, for everyone. In my mind, I decided to put what had happened before aside. It wouldn't do any good to pretend that it didn't happen, but I could pretend that it was of no consequence.

When we all came to breakfast, he was already there with his parents, and immediately, as we all bowed, brows were raised, and whispers began.

"He's here... He looks so different in person," Ron gushed, as he stared unabashedly at the prince, as many were doing. Many, but not all, I noticed. Seamus and Dean seemed to be laughing together, not even looking up from the table after they had bowed. I looked at him and blushed, remembering what my maids had said the night before.

I was wearing a different suit today- charcoal gray. It shouldn't have mattered to me when the prince's eyes skipped over me, but it did. And I was pretty sure he hadn't skipped over me in the first place. I was being paranoid, or something. Jealous, maybe. Of what, though, I didn't know.

I wasn't wearing a tie, thankfully, and many others weren't. Ron, for one, said that he'd have left if they made him wear a tie again. I think he was only half-joking. Dudley, however, and Oliver, still were, and the thought made me want to clench my fists, again, without reason.

When we were all eating, everyone began to ask why he hadn't come to dinner. It was dumb because obviously, none of us knew, but I still found Ron reaching over and asking.

When breakfast was finally over, with pancakes and strawberries of the finest kind filling my stomach, I got up and was escorted to the room- The rec room, I guessed. But whatever the fancier term was for it, because royals couldn't use normal words, could they?

When we got there, I didn't know what I had expected to find. But not this. Not a cozy-looking library-like room with a few sofas here and there. Not with a stern-looking woman standing at the front, ready to address us.

"Good morning, young men. My name is Ms. Mcgonigal, and I will be your teacher for this Selection." she smiled, but it was tight-lipped and forced.

"Teacher?" Neville asked, and someone laughed at him. His ears burned bright red as he took a step back. "I just meant... Like, what would we have to learn?"

"Lord Longbottom, no?" she asked, and without waiting for a reply, pushed her glasses up her nose. "You have much to learn. All of you. Being a king isn't just sitting on a throne all day, you know." she sniffed as if we were imbeciles and didn't deserve to stand in front of her.

"When will these lessons start?" Dudley asked and there was no accompanying laugh this time.

"Now, Lord Dursley." she waved her hand. "Follow me."

We did and walked through the room, where there was a second door. She pushed it open and swept her hand dramatically. "This," she smiled "Is your classroom. Please take a seat."

Quickly, I walked to the middle, where hopefully she wouldn't pick on me and sat. Ron speedily grabbed a chair next to me.

"Bloody hell." he breathed. "She's pretty intimidating," he whispered, and suddenly, she rapped a hand on the front desk.

"Is that talking I hear? First rule. Never whisper when in the company of others, be in a meeting, or a party. If you have something worthwhile to say, you can say it to all of us. And if you don't, well then you need not say anything at all."

She was glaring at Ron, who sat back, abashed. I just looked down, hoping that she wouldn't call me out somehow. Instead, she said something far worse.

"We have to work on the outside, to the inside. Our outside can be covered up with nice suits, and whatnot, but no matter what clothes you wear, your poise, and your personality will be what is looked upon. Today, we will be focusing on your poise. Once you complete the activity that I set you, and you are able to show me, then you may leave to the room outside, where you shall remain for the rest of the day. Is that understood?" she asked, but it wasn't a question.

We were trapped in a palace that we had fought to get into.

So, we all nodded, and she produced a stack of books. Okay. This, I could do. Reading? But then, to my shock, she placed one on her head and began to weave between the desks.

"Grace," she began. "is more than what you can talk about, or how well you can compliment someone. It is in the way you walk. It's in the way you hold yourself. If you slouch, it shows that you don't peg yourself as important- So why should anyone else?"

Immediately, I straightened my spine, trying to mirror how straight she was walking, but in a sitting posture.

She added another book and began talking again. "Elegance," she took a breath. "is not for girls. Elegance is in the way you dress, yes, but also in your-" she daintily added another book. "-posture. Posture, you see, doesn't just show that you can walk straight, or whatnot. It shows your confidence. It shows that people should listen to you. It shows that you can be the next king."

She whirled around to face us all, and, to my shock, the books still stayed firmly on her head.

"I want each of you to grab a book from the pile and try it. Once you can walk properly with five small books or three bigger ones, you show me, and you may go to the other room to read them."

Immediately, people began going for the pile of smaller books. I didn't understand why- I would much prefer three bigger ones, so I could start out with a third of the weight, instead of a fifth.

I tried placing one on my head, but, even before I started to walk, it slid off. Frustrated, I tried again, but to no avail.

"Back straight." her voice came, startling me, making me fumble with the book I was holding. "Keep your spine erect, and face forward."

My said face was blushing, but I trained my eyes forward. Focusing on a point- Which happened to be the prince's eyes, on the painting of the royal family in the room- I tried to keep as still as possible and placed it on my head.

It stayed.

Elated, I took a small step forward, and it tumbled right off.

Clenching my jaw, I picked the book up and saw that everyone was getting on fairly well with their small books. Maybe that had been the better option, I thought. But I couldn't go back now. So, I gritted my teeth and tried again.

And again.

I was the last to leave, except for Neville, who was scrunching his brow, and I could see tears gathering at the corner of his eyes. My heart went out to him, but I could do nothing as Ms. Mcgonigal gave me a proud smile and shooed me off to where the others were.

"Took you a while, mate." Ron nudged my shoulder, and I should have been offended, but I saw only mirth and no menace in his eyes.

"Some people don't spend all day at home pottering about with books on their heads." I grinned back, and he laughed, which was an infectious sound.

Soon, everyone was done, and Neville's eyes were red as he stepped out.

"Well done to Lord Dursley and Lord Goyle." Ms. Mcgonigal stepped out a few minutes after Neville, holding a clipboard in one hand, and a quill in the other. "For completing the tasks the quickest. The rest of you, I appreciate the effort and the fact that you have not done this before, but a little more practice is required."

I turned away to hide my awkwardness, but Ron didn't even look perturbed.

We spent the rest of the day just lounging around, interrupted by only a messenger calling for Dudley and Neville separately.

I couldn't fathom why. When they both came back, they looked ecstatic but refused to say anything except that they had talked with the prince. In Neville's case, he refused out of embarrassment. Dudley refused so that people would feel jealous.

I didn't know how I felt. I wanted to say that there was no jealousy, especially when I fingered the penny in my pocket. But... There was a vile taste in my mouth, and it sure as hell couldn't be from the breakfast- That had been delicious, and I had inhaled it.

Nobody else was called out, and Neville seemed to smile at the realization, whereas Dudley seemed to gloat. Especially to me. I was reading and talking to Ron as Dudley came up to me. I knew it couldn't be any good, not just from the frown on his face- He would never approach me for a positive reason.

"Hey, Harry." his tone was mockingly casual, so much so that I wanted to hurl my guts up. I assumed that was his intention.

"Yeah?" I asked warily from where I was sitting. "What do you want?"

"Well, I just wanted to let you know that it was a fluke." he smiled, and it was, contradictory to the prince's, the most hideous thing I had ever seen. I knew better than to ask what he was talking about, but I didn't have to, because he was more than happy to share. "You getting in, I mean. it's clear that the prince has already set his sights on one person, in particular, so don't think that you have a fighting chance." his smile crept up until it was shown in his eyes, as well. I heard a muffled laugh, and I whirled to where Oliver was. He had the decency to hide it, but... It was there.

Crimson spots dominated my cheeks. I hated that he might think I was intimidated. Quickly, I stood up. I was done with pretending that he could get away with whatever this was.

"Sit down, Harry." Ron's voice came to my ears, and I whirled around, dumbstruck. I had thought that Ron was on my side in all this. "He isn't worth it."

"Yes, listen to your little friend. Sit down. You're not going to get a fighting chance, so don't pretend like you already have one." with that, he stormed off, probably to laugh with Vincent and Gregory- Or Crabbe and Goyle, as I referred to them in my mind. I was still standing, so I turned to Ron.

"What the hell was that for? You made me look like a blundering fool!" I tried not to raise my voice, but it didn't work, and I saw Neville look at me askance.

"I told you... He's not worth it. He's trying to make you lose your temper so that you'll attack him, and get disqualified." he shrugged as if it was simple. And it was. I was an idiot. Shaking my head, I sat back down. Why else would he try and get me angry? Wasn't that what I, myself, had been hoping to do to him so that I wouldn't have to deal with him any longer? Why couldn't I recognize my own damn tactics?

"I'm sorry. You're right." I sighed, knowing that Ron was unaware of how hard it was for me to say those words. After all, apologizing probably came easily to him, because whatever he said in the heat of the moment... Well, there was no heat of the moment with him. He didn't get angry. I wished I was that way.

The rest of the day was, of course, still spent in the room, and Ms. Mcgonigal had taken to sitting in the corner and tutting at our slouched postures, even as we read, and told us to "quiet down, some of us have responsibilities to take care of".

By that, I assumed, by the magazine that she was reading, she was referring to keeping up with the latest gossip, or fashion trends.

But, I thought, as I looked at her well-made clothes, she clearly could be doing something else with the money she'd spent on that magazine.

Then, I hated myself for thinking that way. It was her money, she could do as she pleased. But I just wished that the people here would take into consideration the people outside of here. The people on the streets, begging for food. The people who weren't even well enough to go out on the streets, and were left on the ground, coughing up blood, wishing for some medicine, or food, or anything. Even a single coin would do.

But then again, I was hypocritical. I had kept those pennies for no reason, and for so long. Why? So that I could remember. For sentimental sakes. When people out there, in lower castes, would kill for things I took granted, like my bed, and even the table in our kitchen. Hell, even our house.

Yeah, I wasn't a privileged kid who was a snob, by any means.

But I wasn't so far from it that I could judge other people, either.

With that thought constantly in my mind, the day passed far too slowly, but, finally, after the third book that I read, Ms. Mcgonigal allowed us to leave, and all of us, with many mutters about wasted time and "I thought this would be more fun", filed out.

I just wondered why we were here, and what the royal family was doing.

Because keeping us in here, was basically imprisoning us. Or keeping us from something they didn't want us to see.

Quickly, I thought of how stupid and paranoid I was being, and instead focused on the warmth of my maids, and the coolness of the penny against my hand.

It wasn't my place to think like that. It never was, and it never will be.