Disclaimer:
I do not own harry potter or anything related to it, I write this story for fun.
This story is AU as of book four, and centers on Draco and the other Slytherins.
Lucius and Narcissa are not Death eaters, Lucius was under imperio during the first war.
Prologue: "...Or perhaps in Slytherin You'll make your real friends"
It had been a really long day for one Draco Malfoy, heir to the entire Malfoy fortune and currently at his fifth year at Hogwarts. The school had never really been a second home to him as he knew it were to many others, but on the other hand he had never despised the place either, at least not before now. Things had changed drastically since last year, not at all in a pleasant way.
He rubbed the back of his neck in thought as he made it past the last turn and had his destination. He pretended not to notice, but the blond could see Gregory visibly tense at the mere sight of that dammed wall. Not that he blamed him at all, but it didn't help his own nerves in the least.
And to think that this wariness was caused by one person alone was hard to believe even if you knew it to be a fact. He couldn't help but to long back to easier times, admittedly those time weren't quite right on his kind either, but as they say, 'Rather the devil you know'.
And found himself really missing that devil.
His steps dragged as they came closer to the wall. It was hard to understand that the year had started out so fine, it had been normal. There had been changes yes, and many of them right from the beginning, but he hadn't noticed anything wrong about a few new regulations before it escalated. Umbridge was her name, the strangest character he had ever seen. In his own opinion, it was like she wasn't really all there, but it wasn't a view he dared speak out loud, not in the present circumstances anyway.
Originally he had taken her presence as another poor choice of teacher by the headmaster, but it later showed to be quite a bit worse than that. She had apparently been send here by the minister of magic himself.
Not at all a comforting thought given her recent track record.
He had tried asking his father about what this all meant, but had not really gotten a clear answer. He didn't know, and that very fact made this entire affair a bit more curious, and not in a good way. Especially since Father had made it quite clear that now was the time to practice laying low. He had told his son to avoid getting any attention until he had found out was this was all about. Draco couldn't really blame his father for being worried, not after the rumors that kept circling this summer.
The dark lord was back, or so they said.
At the very start of the summer vacation, signs had begun to appear, if you knew what to look for. Most who had lived through the first war did. It started with thefts and then moved on to disappearances, many disappearances, and then they started finding people murdered. Father had pulled him aside to have a word with him concerning the current state of affairs. It had taken a few hours for father to tell, and a few weeks to swallow, so to speak.
Those who had been murdered were usually former Griffindores and Ravenclaws, but those who disappeared had all been in Slytherin. Needless to say, Draco had not been allowed to leave the house but for a few time, and when he did he was always accompanied by both his parents.
Time before that conversation seemed lifetimes away, because after that, everything changed. The world wasn't safe anymore. He knew it was silly but he saw enemies everywhere in the shadows, and not without reason. People continued disappearing and the murders escalated. To make matters worse, Draco's father wasn't the only one who had noticed the pattern, but they drew other conclusions. At the end of the summer a very hostile public opinion had risen towards the Slytherins, former and current
In his paranoia Fudge had started to target random Slytherins no matter their standing and throwing them into Azkaban. Draco was quite certain that the minister did this to project an image that the situation was being handled. It was also quite clear that if the minister actually caught someone guilty, it would be due to luck more that skill. Those who were to powerful to be treated like that simply 'disappeared', whenever that was disappearance was caused by the dark lord or the ministry was impossible to say. Either way, none of those were heard from again.
Furthermore, there were also some very unpleasant rumours circling, concerning some 'experimental' interrogations that the Aurors were supposedly performing on 'suspects'. Hopefully those remained that, rumours, but one could never be certain.
All in all Those rumours were the most disturbing, because Draco knew for a fact that it was not all lies. One Auror in particular- Stevens was his name- had taken a worrisome interest in father. Stevens was the worst of the lot, shortly followed by a man called Smith. Stevens' right-hand man. If Smith took notice to you, then Stevens was not far behind.
And one does not want to be noticed by Stevens.
Auror Edgar Stevens had the top record hit rate for Death eaters, despite of his young age. It might have something to do with the fact that none of his victims were coherent, after he was done with them. After a 'session' with him all of them was eager to admit anything, just to get away from him, which was probably why he had never caught anyone that hadn't been proved a deatheater by confession. Bellatrix was one of his captures.
According to Lucius, she had been a deatheater, a very active one at that, and suspected of murdering many people… but she had not been insane, not before Stevens and his men. It was not a comforting thought that those very men were trying to ensnare Draco could not help being worried despite knowing that his father had a certain flair for wiggling out of trouble. But would that be enough?
After all, the unforgivable curses were only 'unforgivable' if you weren't an Auror.
So as much, as it irritate him, he was going to do as father said and lay low. He was doing a rather good job if he may say so himself. Draco had already passed scarhead twice today without saying anything vindictive. Though it was so very tempting…
The blond had originally thought that this year could at best be boring without his daily activity of Pothead bashing. That was before he meet the pink monster and the change she brought with her.
Apparently there was to be no spell training whatsoever in defence against the dark arts, spells which would have proven nice to known in the future. Legal hexes were after all, much easier to get away with using 'accidently' if it came down to that. Regrettably that was only the tip of the iceberg. One decree after another was posted in front of the great hall almost every single day now. It infuriated him that half them were there because Potter couldn't keep his blasted mouth shut!
It was worst on the Slytherins, even the slightest hint of disobedience and they were confined with that bloody quill of hers for hours on end. But to be fair the other houses wasn't exactly getting special treatment either. He knew for a fact that Potter had had the displeasure of that a few times. Draco himself had magically, no pun intended, avoided such a session, but it was hard pressed. Draco knew it couldn't be long before it was his turn and he was really not looking forward to it, especially after Pansy's graphic tale of her meeting.
He shuddered inwardly at the thought. Her hand was scarred with the words 'I will never disobey' perhaps forever. Hopefully that would not happen, but it was not possible to tell so early. Blaise had stayed behind in the common room with Pansy, trying to treat the hand with a salve of some kind Blaise had brought with him from home. They had all intended to stay with her as a silent support, but when knowledge got to them that another decree had been agreed upon they had to investigate
Gregory, himself and Astoria were on their way to the great hall to see the daily decree. It had become a strange sort of ritual that the three Slytherins dutifully completed. Some of the other houses chose to disregard the decrees entirely, which was understandable of course but also very unwise. A problem did not disappear simply because it was ignored.
He stopped his line of thought as he stood in front of the wall. It was practically bursting with decrees at this point. He couldn't help but wonder, what the pink menace would do once she ran out of space. They were already hard to read as it were, giving their odd placement. Gregory, being the tallest of them, craned his neck in an attempt to see the new decree.
"What does the new one say?" Draco asked and gazed up on the wall, because he was unable to see it himself from this position. What more can that blasted woman come up with? He raged inwardly.
"There's not one, but two this time" Gregory answered in his 'matter – of – fact' voice. Many took him to be slow thinking and that really wasn't fair. He took more time pondering over a question, true enough, but the deductions he came up with were better than most. He used a lot of his time thinking over a problem before he responded, and people automatically took that as a sign of poor intelligence. He was poor at potions, but that was because it required quick thinking and a just as quick hand to match.
After a few moments Gregory declared that he couldn't see what it was all about, only that two had been posted instead of merely one. That left one option.
"Astoria if you would?" Nodding the blonde fourth year witch took out her wand and casted Wingardium leviosa on him. With directions from Gregory, the white blond Slytherin was lifted safely up to the two new decrees. Draco tried this a few times, but it never became comfortable. Hanging in thin air 5 meters above a very hard stone floor was not as much fun as it might sound. He directed his gaze to the decrees to get it over with. To his surprise one of them banned all groups of more than 3 people at all times.
What are we going to do at feasts then? Go in teams? He thought annoyed and puzzled at the same time, and turned his gaze to the other new decree.
The other decree was far more disturbing, the matter in question was 'the inquisitor squad'. Supposedly, it was a group of henchmen who would only be answering to 'pinky' herself and would be enforcing her laws. The realisation of what would mean for them in the future, was not a pleasant one. This did not bode well for the Slytherins, or the Gryffindors for that matter. The only real security they had had thus far was the fact the Umbrigde couldn't be everywhere. Mostly they could ignore the decrees because there wasn't anyone to enforce them. But not anymore it seemed.
A few weeks into the first semester Draco and a group of the older Slytherins had gathered and agreed upon taking turns at escorting first years to their classes. Umbridge had taken an unhealthy interest in them for some reason perhaps she saw them as easy marks. Draco didn't know why, but she seemed to be singeling them out for some reason. They had tried to thwart this by trying to ensure that they didn't break any of the dammed decrees, and so far it had been working. With the new 'law' that would become more difficult.
They would have to have another meeting about this development soon, he admitted to himself. They had to discuss these decrees. Especially the inquisitor squad needed attention. With some practice it was quite easy to avoid Umbridge, Filch and his bloody cat. But with a bunch of tattle tales around that would be more difficult.
After what she had done to the first years, no decent Slytherin would willingly pair up with her. Draco deducted that the same was evident for the red/gold population, due to what she kept doing to Potter, but the rest…
Ravenclaw was widely known for their brightness and right now the smart thing to do would be signing up with the pink terror and Hufflepuff… they really had no restrictions. They were loyal to each other of course but to no one else. One of the reasons why that house had a bad reputation.
Draco had not realized he was down on the ground again, before his feet unexpectedly touched the ground. A nod towards the great hall explained. Further down the hall, Filch had begun enforcing the new decrees with vigour he rarely showed in other work related areas. He had cornered a small group of Ravenclaws and was busy for the moment,
"We have a problem." Draco said in a serious tone. He quickly explained the new decrees to his friends before the caretaker got to them. He noted that several from other houses edged closer to listen. There was uproar when the blond told of the first one and an uncomfortable silence at the other. To enforce his growing concerns some of the Hufflepuff looked as if they were considering the proposal to join the inquisitorial squad. After a whispered agreement upon meeting later in the common room, the Slytherins scattered in-groups of two.
-[pagebreak]-
Today's first lesson was defence against the dark arts, a class none really bothered studying for. As Granger so elegantly put it, no thinking was required in that class. Honestly, all 'defence' was narrowed down to complete inactivity. Apparently all one had to do was stand still, close your eyes and all the nasty buggers would go away. It would be nice if that was really true but somehow he doubted it. Instead they got a nice book about nothing at all. It was childrens' stuff really, that only went as far as describing the creature but not venturing into the area of what one should do when cornered by said beasty.
In short you only learned enough to know what it the creature before it ate you.
In practise the class was mostly about keeping you head down and turn the pages once in a while. Honestly, you didn't even have to actually read them. Irritatingly enough, with her hovering around, you couldn't even use the time constructive, like getting a nice nap. Sill the lesson had a set patteren to it. First they would read in complete silence, but usually, at some point during the lesson, Potter would start complaining about some recent decree, or the dark lord, and make things worse than they already were.
Though that can hardly be possible at this point he ad mitted to himself and turned another page with disinterest. He knew for personal experience though, that that was not the case, Pothead always had a way of making everything worse, always. It was an irritation skill he seemed to have been born with.
He shook him head to chase the thoughts away, he had other things to do. He took a quick glance over his shoulder and noted the Umbrigde was occupied elsewhere. Slowly he opened his notebook. Thanks to a very convenient charm Draco could write the other Slytherins through it and warn them of the new decrees. The charm connected him to the head girl and all the Slytherin prefects. Almost immediately there was a response from Silva Witu, the seventh year Slytherin head girl. With a few short messages disguised as notes, they decided upon a meeting later that day.
This meeting was exclusively for prefects and Seventh years, with only the exception of Astoria Greengrass who knew all the lower years personally. They would be meeting in the kitchen, because no one ever went there, and Umbridge properly thought it was below her to be found in such a place.
Draco quickly whisked the writing away, as the pink menace strutted past his table, he kept his eyes fixed on the text as if it was the most exciting thing in the world. Not wishing to test his luck he closed the notebook and put it away. One never knew.
They were finally released after what felt like years and every single student almost ran from the place in their eagerness to get away. Draco could not exactly blame them for it since he was doing likewise, though at a more dignified pace.
-[page break]-
The rest of the classes, ancient runes and potions, flew past and before he knew it, it was evening. He met up with Astoria whom he had promised to escort her to the kitchen since she had never been there before. She stod at the entrance waiting for him when he came down from the dormitories
"Have the others already left?" he asked and threw a look around the room. It was mostly empty this time of night, but a few were still up. Those that were still up were reading, the sixth years had a test in transfigurations coming morning.
She nodded "Only just, Pansy said that she would save us a seat. Shall we go? I do not want to be late." She shot a glaze at the great long case clock that stood at the far end of the common room.
"Very well, follow me." He motioned toward the hidden wall that was the entrance to the Slytherin house and the pair disappeared into the corridor.
Had they only have had to reach the kitchen by normal means it would not have taken nearly as long, but it was different time so they had to make use of plenty of the hidden corridors. When such a corridor was not provided, they moved as fast as they could and kept to the shadows, just in case. Admittedly it was not particularly harder to avoid detection these days than it had been before, but the consequences were so much more severe if one was caught.
Fortunately on one discovered the two, and soon they found themselves before the hidden entrance to the kitchen.
"This is an odd picture." Astoria frowned at touched aforementioned picture carefully, in wonder. The fruit basket was completely still a rarity in the wizarding world. "Why does it not move?"
The fifth-year didn't honestly know actually, that strange type of painting was the only one of its kind he had ever seen. He had always found it very strange after he discovered it in his second year. He had asked father but he didn't know either. For some reason, the Hogwarts kitchen was located behind a strange painting that didn't move at all. The blond had always thought that it was really strange picture, and also a bit scary. It was a dead picture.
"Something must have gone wrong when they made it, I am not certain." He reached out and tickled one of the fruits, and that made the painting swing open. "It is weird though." He added after a pause.
After having passed the painting in the corridor the two Slytherins made it inside, they were almost the last to arrive but luckily not the last. Hey came upon a warm lit room that was bursting with activity. The elves seemed to be beside themselves in joy, every single one was practically bursting with excitement at having so many students as guests.
"I said no thank you!" Some sixth year prefect tried to no avail as he was presented with a small mountain of candy. Not at all bothered by a few protest The small figures were running around carrying plates with a great variety. A plate came by the two newcomers and only after spending five seconds in the room they had a plateful of delicacies and a butterbeer for each hand. Rosier, a sixth year prefect that simply could not say no to a pair of huge elf eyes, found himself stuffed with every sweet Draco knew of – and some he never heard of.
Hopefully the poor bloke wouldn't burst, it would be hard to get that out of the carpet.
A few minutes later the last had showed up, and headgirl Witu stepped forward and spoke.
"Good evening my fellow Slytherins, first I want to thank you all for coming here at such a small notice. We have much to discuss, especially concerning the first year arrangement now that we can only be seen in a limited number. We also need to speak of the new inquisition of which I urge you to share whatever knowledge you have."
And with that, the meeting had begun. It lasted for four hours but in the end it, it was agreed that all students from the fifth year and up should accompany one first to third year. They would each be assigned one but should be prepared to assist others if needed be. A list of timetables was passed around so that each first year was either assigned to a seventh year, or a prefect.
The other lower years was placed with a fifth or a Sixth year. The fourth years, it was decided, could handle themselves provided that they ran in-groups of three. One Seventh-year was assigned to checking up on them before each class as a precaution.
Draco himself was assigned a first year named Mafalda Viperin, a girl born from a reunion between a muggle and a squib related to the Weasleys. She was a nice enough girl, a bit of a troublemaker perhaps but sweet all the same.
After speaking with his mother the blond had discovered at that was not quite true. The 'muggle' in cuestion was not completely a muggle but had a grandmother who also was a squib. So in truth she was the offspring of two squibs.
Did that make her a pureblood? Draco couldn't help but wonder and if indeed that was the case maybe all mudbloods were in truth halfbloods? It would explain why magical ability seeming appeared in muggle families. Draco broke his odd chain of thought as the meeting moved on to the true agenda, the inquisition.
"The inquisition is a group we have to take seriously... even if it is very likely that it will be consisting of Hufflepuffs" Witu said, the last part was added as an afterthought and amused laughter rose from the crowd. When they had quieted down again the Head girl continued.
"Of what I have been able to discover, it seems that it is indeed the-most-loyal house of Hufflepuff that will join up in this group-." She stressed the 'most loyal' with barely disguised contempt."- along with a few of the older Ravenclaw students." There was a barely contained uproar at the last part. The Slytherins had always felt somewhat of a kinship to the house of the raven, and for them to have sided with her so early was a shock. Draco had expected it to happen in time, but not so soon.
"And what of the Gryffindorks?" Someone asked in the crowd, and silence soon fell upon the kitchen once again.
"Only a small number among the Gryffindors have chosen to side with Umbridge, a few sixth and seventh years no more." That was somewhat of a relief, the Gryffindorks were already favoured, and they did not need more power than they already had.
"But-!" Witu said with pride in her entire demeanour. "-Not a single student of our house have joined." The blond Prefect smiled at that, at least Slytherin house was united, and he shared that sentiment with the other Slytherins.
Witu stepped back and another seventh year, started to speak of the details of the inquisitorial squad, and what power they in reality held. It did go past Draco that the seventh year told them so with trepidation.
According o him, each member of that witch hunt- no pun intended- had higher authority than a Prefect. They were allowed to take points, give detentions and they did not have to follow any the decrees Umbridge had made. Luckily the head girl of Slytherin was still of higher rank than them, at least presently.
Unfortunately, it was very little that could be done about it at the moment, they couldn't even go to the headmaster since he was never there. And anyway, it wasn't as if he would ever help a Slytherin over his precious Gryffindors if it came down to that, and unfortunately there were Gryffindors in the inquisition.
No, the only one they could truly go to was Professor Snape, but none dared to call on him in fear of that Umbridge would remove him if they did. The event of what happen to Trelawney a few days ago was still clear in mind. They all suspected that headmaster Dumbledore would not give professor Snape the same liberty so they had to keep him out of it.
The meeting ended with a huge buffet that Draco was sure hadn't been there when they got there. With some among their number practically stuffed with sweets, the top of Slytherin house left the kitchen in pairs by different routes. Not that there was much of a risk of being caught, Witu had made sure that only Slytherin prefects were assigned on patrol this night.
To be continued