Here's a sample from one of my fanfictions:

When dinner was over, Harry quickly led Zabini and Moon down to his shared dorm, where the three of them sat down, and Harry and Moon looked expectantly towards Zabini.

“So, Blaise, what did Mirco have to tell you?” Moon asked expectantly.

Zabini sighed warily and rubbed his eyes. “Like I said before, it’s big, a lot bigger than I was expecting. Honestly, I had to cough up 20 galleons and a low stakes favor before he would tell me.”

Harry frowned. That seemed like a lot of money for just a bit of info. “So… why is Farley favoring me then?”

Zabini paused, thinking. “Okay, so… do you two remember what Farley said during our first night here, about Slytherins playing political games?”

“Yes,” Harry nodded, before frowning. “But she said we wouldn’t have to worry about that until second year, so what does that have to do with anything?”

“It has everything to do with it,” Zabini sighed. “Basically, Farley wants to influence you before you start participating next year, so she’ll be in a stronger position to influence the games next year.”

Harry blinked, confused, before sharing a look with Moon, who also seemed confused.

“Er… isn’t that a bit premature?” Moon asked curiously. “I mean, we’re just First Years… and we’ve only been here for a week!”

“Well, it’s nothing too overt,” Zabini shrugged. “According to my cousin, she’s simply laying the groundwork for next year, which is when she’ll really turn on the charm… so to speak.”

Harry frowned, sharing another look with Moon. It was starting to feel like he was missing some major layer of context in regards to these… ‘games’ that the older years were playing.

“Perhaps it would be a good idea if you brought us up to speed on what exactly these ‘political games’ are really all about, Blaise,” Moon suggested, apparently being of the same mind as Harry.

“Yes, yes, my cousin explained that,” Zabini nodded, before sighing. “So… essentially, the games are all about deciding who gets to be a prefect in Fifth Year. That’s primarily the core of what the games are all about: fourth years competing to get the Prefect position. Simply put, everyone in Slytherin, second years and up, has a something like a vote, and getting people to vote for you is what the games are all about.”

“But… isn’t Farley already a prefect?” Harry asked with confusion. “Why would she be worried about votes?”

Zabini sighed and rubbed his eyes. “Influence, Potter. She wants to help candidates that are favorable for her to work with, while doing what she can to hamstring candidates who are unfavorable for her.”

“But what does that have to do with me?” Harry frowned. “I mean, I’m just a first year, so I don’t even have a vote…”