Warning:
[T rating]
[Content might have disturbing and weird themes because Bill]
This is an AU and my knowledge of Harry Potter is somewhat limited. So if there is any mistake, treat it as something that's part of the AU universe that I have created.
Summary:
In which a younger Draco accidentally summons a floating triangle.
Chapter 1 – What Should Have Stayed Hidden
It was on a late afternoon when a small boy stumbled upon a secret room in his manor. The giant manor was distinctive not because of its grand size nor its magnificent architecture but due to the family that owns it. Now; this tiny decrepit room was built when the manor was. Its purpose is unknown but the closest guess was it was built to house some unsavoury artifacts the family's ancestors hid; which is evident by the fact that a small blonde boy will soon unleash something that should have stayed hidden.
-Scene break-
Draco was bored. The sun was still out and shining with a vengeance. Its rays leaked through the massive windows of Malfoy Manor, enveloping the blonde boy's elbow. Draco was currently sprawled over an armchair with nothing to do.
He stared at the ceiling for who knows how long until he grew even more bored. His eyes then found its way onto a stick he had found outside. The small, thin branch sat innocently on the desk across him. He didn't know why he brought it inside. He just did. As a young boy, he still lets his imagination wander once a while, so, when he found the stick, he imagined it to be a wand. A wand just like the ones that let his mother and father do wondrous things. He dearly wished for one of his own. Waiting for five more years to acquire one seemed unfair in his eyes.
The young boy let out a long sigh. Sluggishly, he sat up and jumped off the chair. He then grabbed the 'wand' and quickly set out of the room.
Draco walked down the hallway, uninterested in the expensive decorations displayed. It was times like these that he felt utterly lonely. His father was currently out managing the investments he had made. This took a lot of his time. Aside from dinner, he barely saw him throughout out the day. For a man who didn't 'work', he was very busy. His mother at the moment was out on an important business. The magical boy didn't know what these important businesses entail but his mother would come home with bags and bags full of either clothes or shoes. Girly things he had no interest in. Most often, he spends his time by himself, alone in the manor with nothing but house elves as company. Not that he spends his time with house elves. They weren't even allowed to show themselves to him unless he or his parents needed them.
He dragged his stick onto the wall of the manor as he walked by. Along with his tiny footsteps, the scraping of the walls was the only noise that can be heard throughout the building. He should probably stop and throw out the stick. It wouldn't do to attract the attention of a house elf, he could get in trouble with his parents. Those little blighters were major tattletales.
He wandered around his home for the thousandth time since he had first taken his steps as a baby. He's explored every crook and cranny; remembered every expensive vases, plants and furniture displayed to show off their wealth. He knows the places where dust would accumulate faster than normal and where most house-elves have to clean feverishly in order to remove the dirt. So, it was a surprise when the stick in his hand had gotten stuck on a crack in the wall.
Draco pulled on the stick to remove it. It didn't budge, and so, he tried harder, then harder until his palms turned pink. Soon he had enough of the stinging pain in his hands and let go. The object didn't falter. It looked like it was floating mid-air. It was well and truly stuck. The young boy let out a frustrated growl thinking of how his luck has landed him in this situation.
What was he supposed to say when his parents return home? "Yes, mother there's a floating stick in the hallway because I decided to pick a dirty old branch off the ground and wave it all willy-nilly until it poked a hole through the wall."
Mother will surely be angry with him. It wasn't proper for a boy his status to go outside and grab something like a stick of all things to play with. The pacing of his heart quickened. He needs to get this bloody stick out.
Draco leaned closer to inspect the hole that latched onto the stick. Seeing that there was some room above the crack, he wriggled the long wood up and down and noticed chips off the wall peeling away. Curiously he began to pick at it and soon found the crack was stretched along the wall. The thin gap inlaid in the walls was straight and held the same width throughout. He could even see some kind of metal in between. It wasn't an ordinary crack that was for sure. It seemed as if it was put there on purpose.
The boy took a step back hoping he could see the bigger picture, and that was just what happened. After a moment of staring and deciphering what he was looking at, he caught a similar line in the corner of his eye. It was incredibly thin, much thinner than the space his stick was wedged onto. It wasn't noticeable at all unless you were well and truly paying attention to it.
Hoping that the crevices were what he thinks they are, he ran his small fingers across the newly found gap and pushed on it. Just as he predicted, it moved slightly. The crack now outlined a tall door that had been plastered over. The stick wasn't stuck in a crack but into the wedges of a door frame.
In an attempt to free the stick once again, Draco pushed onto the door. It only moved slightly. Determined, Draco then slammed the door using his shoulders. With every push, the door loosened and until finally he took a step back and ran at it. The impact was enough to blow the door wide open.
He heard the stick fall onto the floor. Draco bent over and hurriedly picked the stick up. A sense of relief washed over him; he wasn't going to get in trouble for bringing a dirt ridden stick inside now but… He glanced at the wide open door. The six-year-old boy didn't know what to make of the secret door that he had found. He doubted even his parents knew of this… whatever it is.
Looking over at what was beyond the door that guarded the secret room, he could only see pitch black darkness. The only light was coming room the hallway that poorly lit a few feet into the room to reveal descending stairs. The stairs were wooden and painfully old. Thinking to himself, he thought they will most likely creak. He knew well to stay away from unknown places and it made Draco feel apprehensive about entering, but in the end, his curiosity won out.
Looking from side to side, he scanned the hallways in search for any peeping house elves. None were present. Confident he would get caught, he took a deep breath and muttered, "I'll just order the house elves to close this up after I have a look."
Draco leaned closer and set his foot down on the staircase to take his first step, and then another. The stairs did creak. It was the only thing he could hear and it made his way down feel eerie. Frowning, he squeezed tighter at the stick clutched in his hands.
Eventually, he reached the ground. He hadn't descended far from where he previously was. He looked back to see the door still wide open and the blank walls of the hallway staring down at him.
It was still pitch black. The young boy took a step and suddenly light engulfed the corners of the room. The sudden light made Draco jump. It was still somewhat dim but he could now see what was inside. Lanterns were attached to the walls, containing small magical flames. His eyes were now wide open, amazed at the show of long-lasting magic. By the cobwebs displayed all over, this room should have been incredibly old and unused for a very long time. Normally the lanterns shouldn't be functioning anymore because they needed to be recharmed every couple months.
Seeing that there wasn't any dangerous creature lurking about, he wandered in deeper. The walls were made of the same wood the stairs were. The floors, on the other hand, were now plain dirt. Different knickknacks were scattered all over, placed either on long desks or a worn out bookshelf. Crates were littered all over the ground, some closed, some open and empty. These knickknacks included different sizes of empty jars, some not so but he couldn't identify what was inside. Years of neglect had only turned the contents inside into black chars. Unsurprisingly, there was an abundant of books. The edges were frayed, the covers lost its colour turning into an ugly brown and it had that musty smell Draco hated. All these items and furniture were either covered in dust or cobwebs.
Soon he found area barren of all furniture. It was a wide space with scorch marks on the floor. It was black and massive. A "wow" involuntarily escaped his mouth. Draco tilted his head slightly and could make out some mysterious symbols underneath all the burnt dirt. Wanting to inspect it a little closer, only to clumsily jerk to the side and bump onto a closed crate that a gigantic jar was placed on. He fumbles a bit to try and catch the falling jar until… Crash. The jar shattered on the floor, as soon as it did, the contents of it lit up on fire.
"Nononono!" was all Draco could say while trying to blow on it in vain of putting it out. His efforts didn't help, it just grew bigger. Now, Draco was all out panic. I was going to burn the manor down!
The fire moved up. It travelled to the scorch marks on the dirt floor ahead and was on its way to filling up the marks on the floor, most likely following what the previous flames had done. The fire seemed to come alive. It roared and grew taller, it gathered some abnormal winds that wasn't present before. The heat became unbearable like he was put in an oven to roast.
The little boy was now pale and sweating. He stood frozen in front of the powerful summoning magic. He was terrified out of his mind and couldn't anything.
The flames slowly shifted into a small tornado of fire, only to morph and reveal a lone eye. The eyeball was engulfed in the flames yet it didn't burn it. Its pupil made its way onto the pale boy standing in front of it.
They made eye contact, and that was when Draco broke. He screamed. He ran to the stairs knocking several things along the way but didn't care. Who would when you saw an eyeball emerge from a tornado of fire?
Stumbling up the stairs he rushed out into the well-lit hallway. He didn't close the door in his haste. The fear overdrove all other thoughts except for the need to get out of there.
Draco ran. He ran down the hallway, up to a set of stairs and into his bedroom. He slammed the door and locked it. That thing couldn't get in right? he asked to himself.
It was only then when the rush of adrenaline calmed a little that he realized he had set fire inside an unknown basement in the manor. Fire that could spread to the rest of his home. What should he do? What should he do?!
Nothing happened. It stayed like this for several minutes.
He was pacing around in front of his bedroom door. The pacing of his heart didn't go down due to the anticipation. He was breathing heavily and if he continued to do so, he would hyperventilate. He needed to check what was happening. Where were the house elves!? What if they burned alive and the fire was slowly creeping its way up to me?!
"DOBBY!"
The house elf popped up in front of him, with a worried yet terrified look on his face. He yelled louder than he should have and it completely startled the elf. Draco scrutinized him. He looked perfectly normal, aside from the startled expression and the insecurity that was oozing out of him, it didn't seem like he was worried for their safety. And that was saying a lot. Dobby was always a jumper. The elf was prone to bouts of emotional outbursts over the simplest of things. If there was a fire making its way to him he would have been frantic. The elf's reaction eased him somewhat.
Dobby eventually asked, "Y-yes young master?" The elf's question brought Draco out from his thoughts. The house elf was now fidgeting, guess he was staring at Dobby too long.
"Uh…" Noticing that he was acting strange, he looked to the side and held his head high, just as he was taught. "Nothing. You may go."
Dobby then popped out of existing but not before he sent the young heir an unreadable expression.
Draco let himself drop onto his bed, facing upwards. He was now staring at the ceiling of Malfoy manor like he did before coming down the basement. The event in the basement left him exhausted and his interaction with Dobby confused. His body relaxed from knowing he was out of danger. He didn't feel like moving. Not one bit. He stayed like that for an hour or two. Contemplating on what the hell just happened.
-Scene Break-
He was woken up by a voice calling out his name.
"Draco!"
That must have been his mother coming back from her errand. It took some time to know what was happening. His vision was muddled and he was still somewhat groggy from waking up. He must have fallen asleep. When he fell asleep, he didn't know. Draco was just too tired due to the basement incident.
The fire inside the hidden room flashed into his mind. He recalled the magic that oozed from that room. Draco didn't notice it before but the magic in there was suffocating. His thoughts then wandered onto how the fire was put out or what the giant eyeball was. Draco had kept replaying the event in his mind an hour after he had come running into his room and asking questions such as why there even was a secret passage hidden in the hallway…
…
The hallway! He jolted up from his bed and ran out of his room. Racing down the stairs and into the direction that has a gaping doorway open. He needs to steer his mother away from there until he could have a house elf seal it up. The boy rushed through the manor, hoping his to get to the hallway before her.
I'm going to be in so much trouble if she found out, Draco thought, how could he have been so stupid?!
He abruptly stopped his running. He was panting heavily and the pacing of his heart was as fast as when he fled the hidden room. The beating of his heart didn't calm, instead, it quickened when he saw the figure standing across him.
There, in the hallway stood his mother, Narcissa.
She was an elegant looking woman with blonde hair. Draco has always seen her being poised in everything she does. Her height was on the tall side but it didn't detract her beauty. She had a lean figure and was currently carrying some bags. A soft smile was gracing her face. Draco's eyes widened for a fraction from seeing his mother in the hallway he was trying keep her from.
"Well someone's excited to see me." Narcissa had her eyebrow raised, questioning at why he was running.
Draco's eyes darted to the side of the hallway. Nothing. The wall was completely free of any door frame cracks or holes made from sticks. The black hole that led down to a room conjures up live fire and floating eyeballs were nowhere to be seen. Draco's mind took a double take. He kept staring at that spot until he heard an "Ahem."
"Mother." Draco was still unnerved but tried not to show it.
His mother's only response was another raised eyebrow, something that always made Draco feel like his mother can see through his actions. But she didn't. Narcissa began to move the living area. "Come on." She said, "Your father will be coming home soon."
Draco stood in place to stare at the wall again for a second, while his mother called for a house elf to take her bags. Worry, confusion and doubt could have been seen on his face. It was a lot to take in for a six-year-old. The whole day had left him feeling unsettled.
He soon turned around to follow his mother.
Sneak Peek on Chapter 2:
An echoing voice called out to him from behind, "Heya kid!"
He turned around, a small yellow triangle floated above him with one giant lone eye. The same one he'd seen emerged from the fire earlier.
Draco screamed.
Hello reader! I hope you liked the first chapter of the story. Just a heads up, there is a possibility this will only stay as a one-shot, albeit a really low possibility but it's still there. If not, then Chapter 2 will come out sometime in the future. Not too soon since I have school. I just wanted to write something that's been stuck in my for the past couple of days. I'm still working on the plot if I decide to continue and make this as an actual full-on story. I'll most likely be winging it though, so if you have any suggestions, they are always welcome.
This is my first story I am publishing on and I hope to make more. Until then see you later!
Keep in mind that constructive criticism is greatly appreciated, any other types will be completely ignored as they are not needed.
[April 23/18]