This is my first time posting anything. This was actually written as a class assignment believe it or not. Be kind and review. I welcome criticism. Hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: With the writing of this story, I do not claim to own the characters, setting, or plot of the Harry Potter series. They are the intellectual property of J.K. Rowling.
What Devours Us Most
"Our envy of others devours us most of all." – Alexander Solzhenitsyn
Draco Malfoy was sick of Harry Potter. He had been for quite some time. Upon first meeting him, he had extended a hand of friendship to the young wizard. After all having the famous Harry Potter in his company would surely move him up in the ranks in his house. But foolish Potter had slapped his hand away in favor of that stupid git Weasley and filthy mudblood Granger.
Then there was that blasted flying lesson. Draco thought surely he would have Potter bested at flying. The boy had never even been on a broom before. But no, Potter had been a natural. Not only had he shown Draco up by catching Longbottom's Remembrall but he had also managed to escape detention and become seeker of his house's Quidditch team as a first year. It was unbelievable.
Potter never seemed to get into trouble, despite all of Draco's attempts to make it so. Once he had caught Potter and his friends smuggling a dragon out of Hagrid's hut after hours. He thought surely if they were caught it would mean an expulsion. They only got detention and Draco had to serve it with them since by catching them, it meant that he too was out of bed past curfew.
At the end of the year, Draco's Slytherin House had still won the House Cup. That is until that dodgy old coot Dumbledore awarded the Gryffindor house extra points just because they had managed not to die in the process of being somewhere they weren't at all supposed to be. That seemed hardly fair to Draco.
So far it seemed this year would be no different. Potter and Weasley had broken a million rules when they crashed that flying car of theirs into the Whomping Willow and had still only received detention. They didn't even lose any points for their house. Draco had managed to make the Slytherin House Quidditch team that year, but even that was ruined when Granger had implied his father had bought his way in. Stupid little Mudblood.
Even Draco's father was disappointed in him. Not that it was any different than how Draco's father usually felt about everyone. But his father's constant nagging of how he had let a muggle-born beat him at his studies was beginning to affect Draco. It seemed that all he could think about was how to get them back. He had lost sleep and he had trouble eating, even now, mulling over things at the Halloween feast. Even his complexion seemed paler than usual.
Before Draco knew it, dinner was over. He had hardly even touched his food. As he filed out of the Great Hall with the other students, he realized there was a commotion up ahead. He quickly pushed his way through the crowd, anxious to see what was causing such a fuss. What he saw when he broke through the crowd put a smile on his face. There stood Potter and his friends, completely dumbstruck. Argus Filch's cat had been petrified and was hanging as if dead by the tail. A dark message was written on the wall, in what appeared to be blood: THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE.
Draco's heart began to race with excitement. The grin on his face grew eerily wider and color began to return to his cheeks. He knew all about the Chamber of Secrets. His father had told him. And the last time it was open, a girl had died. This was going to be it, he thought. The break he had been waiting for. Something was happening at Hogwarts, something to his advantage. The heir of Slytherin had returned. Someone to be on his side. Someone to restore him to glory.