Behind the mask
Authors Note
Hi guys, I hope you enjoy. Review please. Thanks! (Don't worry; even if it may seem it, there is no slash in this story, promise.)
Ch.1 The only person to confide in
Draco's POV
I walked quickly towards Professor Dumbledore's office; I got to the gargoyle and whispered the password. It moved and I climbed the stairs as fast as I could. "Ahh, Draco, I was wondering when I would get to see you again." Dumbledore spoke as I closed the door behind me. "What's wrong my boy?" I walked forward and Dumbledore gestured to a chair opposite him, I sat down and clenched my hands together, my nails digging into the flesh. "Th-The thing is P-Professor, I think my F-F-Father may be starting to suspect something about me." The words were hard to get. "Did he hurt you again Draco?" My hand travelled up to the new wound on my arm where my Father's cane had broken the skin. "Let me see." He held out his hand and I reluctantly placed my arm in it. He rolled up my sleeve carefully, as to not cause me pain, and looked at the fresh cut. "It seems deeper than last time." He thought aloud. "Yes, my F-Father was considerably angrier this time…" Dumbledore met my eyes for a second before straightening up and placing my arm on his desk, I took it back and rolled down my sleeve, wincing as it covered my wound. "Draco, I think it would be smart if you stayed here for the holidays, I'll tell your, er, Father that you are falling behind in some classes and it is my wish that you stay here to catch up on work, ok?" He asked me. I nodded, "Yes, thank you." I stood up and began to walk out of the room, "Draco!" Dumbledore called after me, I turned, "if you want someone to talk to during the holidays, Harry Potter will also be staying, he may not talk to you at the start as you did what I asked and were unpleasant to him for these last few years but…I think that he would secretly like to be your friend, as you would his. Hmm." He raised his eyebrows and I turned again, leaving his office silently. A single tear escaped my eye and rolled down my cheek, I wiped it away and walked to my next lesson, potions, Snape was there the night my Father hit me, he knew I wouldn't speak about Hogwarts to my Father and he knew why, my Father would immediately relay the news to Voldemort in hope of praise. I couldn't let that happen. I walked in the door with my head down and sat in my seat at the back in silence. People may have thought this strange as Potter, Weasley and Granger were sat a row in front of me and I didn't insult them, not even once. Potter kept turning to look at me with an expression of expectancy on his face, as if waiting for the insult that never came. Snape told us to concoct a death potion, a poison if you will. I was always the best at making these but today, my heart just wasn't in it. Snape walked over to me halfway through pur allotted time and glances in my cauldron. "Draco, I suggest you stop adding wormwood to your potion, it's not going to help…" He whispered to me. "What, oh!" I placed it on the desk and sighed in exasperation, "What's the problem Draco? You're usually the top of the class at poison potions, is it what happened with your Father…Draco?" That was it, I cracked. I stood up, pushing the cauldron off the desk and onto the floor, I flung the potions book across the room before grabbing my bag and leaving the room, slamming the door. I ran to the seventh floor and squeezed my eyes shut, "Come on, come on, come on," I muttered repeatedly. I snapped my eyes open and saw the doors, "Thank god." I ran into the room and slid down the door, sobbing. Tears soaked my shirt as I hung my head down. I curled up on the floor and cried, I wished I'd never been asked to take on the role of a spy, I wished I had the inner strength to stand up to my father, I wished I could help Harry Potter defeat Voldemort, I wished, I wished… I must have cried myself to sleep as I woke up with tears surrounding me. I sat up and checked my watch, 11.25pm, great. I was supposed to be in bed 2 hours ago. Now I was going to have to find a way to sneak past Filch and get to the Slytherin dorms unnoticed. Impossible, well some might say fooling Voldemort is impossible, but me and Snape seemed to have managed it. I could do this. I opened the doors and stepped out cautiously, looking around for any sign of movement, but there was none. I ran down the corridors and up the grand staircase, two steps away from the dungeons, the staircase shifted. I grabbed the banister and held on for my life, one sudden change could leave me hanging on to the bottom step, and I defiantly didn't want that. The stairs shuddered to a stop and I looked up, the Gryffindor common room, fantastic… A voice behind me made me spin round with enough force to knock my head off my shoulders. "What are you doing here Malfoy?"