Phoenix: (Opens door and pulls out a baseball bat) Hello is anyone in here?
V.C.: Dude, I don't think anyone's been in this room in a while.
Frostwing: (From down the hall) What room?
K.N: The Harry Potter Room of course.
Phoenix: (Turns to the desk to see a completely written chapter of a story) Uh guys when did we write this?
V.C.: Write what? (looks at the chapter) Uh dude, I didn't write that.
Frostwing: (Enters room and looks at the ceiling) G-g-g-guys! L-l-l-look!
K.N.: (Looks in and slams the door shut)
Phoenix: (Looks at ceiling) Acromantula! RUN!
V.C.: (Looks at others running) Thanks Aragog. Here's your payment. (Hands Aragog ten pounds of beef)
Aragog: Thank you author.
Phoenix: (Pokes head in the room) I-i-is it gone?
V.C.: Yes, it's gone you wimp.
Phoenix: Okay then, on with the show.
We Do Not Own Harry Potter.
Salazar Malfoy and The Castle's Secret
Chapter 1: The Ball
Salazar jolted awake with a shout of terror as he clutched tightly to his chest. His heart was pounding furiously as if it were attempting to burst free from within him. The young boy breathed heavily as he looked around the room. His surroundings became clearer to him in the dark of night as he calmed slightly and saw that he was in his room, safe from whatever he had dreamt of. His brother soon rushed over to him. In order to comfort his brother, Salazar stated "I'm okay Draco, I'm fine. Just a bad dream that is all."
"Wanna talk about it?" Draco questioned, trying to ascertain the cause of the bad dream. "I mean, bad dreams don't just happen, you know?"
"It's not a big deal, just the usual one." Salazar stared down at his bedsheets frowning.
"The Potter dream again?" Draco arched a worried brow.
"Yeah, this time the screaming was louder that's all," Salazar sighed. "I'll be alright, I just need to calm down a little."
"Well...alright," Draco hesitated before dropping the subject. He figured that if Salazar was in need of help, then he would ask for it. "Then, if your okay, let's go back to sleep."
Salazar shook his head to decline his brother's offer. "I think I'll just go get one of the house elves to get me a snack, then I'll settle in."
Draco made no argument with his brother over this. Throughout the past few weeks since summer started, the young wizard had begun to have horrific dreams about the Potters and their death. He also occasionally dreamt of his time at the Dursleys' house. To help calm him, Lucius had arranged for a house elf to stay awake and be prepared to get Salazar a snack to calm himself after the night terrors were over.
Salazar went about his business in the dark of night, silently making his way to the kitchen so as to not wake anyone else with his late night activities. Once he grabbed his snack, Salazar quietly went back to bed and hoped for a more peaceful sleep.
The next morning rolled around and both twins were sleeping in, taking advantage of their summer vacation. However, that was about to change as Hermione slowly creaked open the door and frowned at them both.
"Are they still asleep Mistress?" Ajax asked his mistress curiously from behind the young brunette witch.
"I'm afraid so Ajax," Hermione replied while frowning. "What do you recommend we do?"
The cerberus paused for a moment then had an idea. He whispered to his mistress, who gave a small smile and giggle at the idea proposed by her familiar. She cast a low-level ice spell, waking the two boys with a start as they jumped out of bed and glared at the intellectual witch.
"Hermione! What was that for?!" Draco exclaimed in anger with his brunette female friend.
"Well," Hermione smiled at the duo. "I figured that neither of you would want to miss breakfast, so I had to figure out a way to wake you."
Salazar and Draco shared a look before both glaring at the girl before them. "And freezing us awake was the best plan you could come up with?!"
"No," Hermione's smile widened as she glanced behind herr at Ajax. "It was Ajax's idea, and I thought it would be quite humorous to give it a try. Which I'm glad I did. Now then, if you want breakfast then I would suggest getting ready for the day."
With that said, Hermione left the room with her loyal familiar following not far behind her. Both Malfoys grumbled about lack of sleep and attempting to enjoy the luxuries of summer as they got prepared for the day and hurried downstairs.
When they arrived at the kitchen table, Lucius was sipping his coffee while reading a newspaper. He briefly glanced away from his reading to greet his children. "Draco, Salazar, good morning to you both. I trust that you slept well and are prepared for this evening."
"What's happening this evening?" Draco gave his father a curious look, having forgotten what day it was.
Lucius folded his newspaper and set it beside him to give his sons his full and proper attention. He stared at the twins for a few minutes then sighed. "I suppose I can't entirely fault you for forgetting. After all, when your young and having fun, things tend to fly away. This evening we shall be hosting the ball to celebrate our recent finding of Salazar."
Both Malfoy boys looked at each other when the memory of the ball came back to them.
'How could I forget such an important event?' Salazar asked himself while frowning. 'I mean, this ball is supposed to celebrate me and I couldn't even be bothered to remember it was happening. Plus, I have to meet that girl the Potters arranged for me to marry.'
As if reading his son's mind, Lucius cleared his throat to regain both boys attention. "It's quite alright, I have already made the necessary arrangements for you both to have the clothes you'll need for this occasion. So I wouldn't worry if I were you. Instead, I would think about how to enjoy your time tonight."
With that said, Lucius picked back up his paper and resumed his reading while taking another drink of coffee. Narcissa walked into the room and offered a warm greetings to her sons before fetching them breakfast.
After eating a healthy meal of bacon, eggs, and toast, the twins were ushered off so that Narcissa could clean up. Both boys tried to offer their assistance but their mother refused, saying they should go enjoy themselves before the ball tonight and spend some time with Hermione since they may not get another chance later.
Seeing that their mother was not going to budge on the matter, both relented on the topic and left to their friend's room. They found Hermione sitting on her bed, petting a sleeping Ajax and staring down at the cerberus.
"Hey Mione." Salazar said in a hushed tone so as to not wake Ajax.
Hermione jumped slightly and glanced at her two friends. "Oh, hello you two, I didn't notice you come in. Did you need anything of me?"
Salazar frowned at that question. Ever since he had found out about the marriage contract and told them both, Hermione had begun to act weirdly. She began to distance herself from Salazar a little and often wouldn't look him in the eyes when talking.
The young wizard wondered if he had done something to anger her but knew that she would have said something if that were the case. He sighed inwardly before speaking. "No, we don't need anything. We were just wondering if you wanted to hang out before the ball, since we may not get to hang out once it starts."
'He'll probably be too busy with that Luna girl,' Hermione thought with jealousy, she then shook her head to rid those kinds of thoughts. She didn't like the feelings she got when she thought about Salazar being in a marriage contract, it bothered her that she couldn't understand her emotions enough to figure out what exactly was the problem.
Realizing that she had not responded to her friend's question, the brunette witch quickly thought up an answer. "Um, sure. I guess we could find something to do together. Perhaps you two could show me some tricks with your brooms?"
Draco and Salazar both grinned at the mention of their broomsticks and quickly agreed. They rushed off to their room to gather their brooms and called over their shoulders that they would meet her outside. She smiled at this and looked down once more at the sleeping Ajax.
Later:
The Malfoy family was currently waiting at the stairwell that descended into their ballroom. They were all dressed for the occasion, Lucius and Narcissa wore their best robes while Salazar and Draco both wore elegantly crafted clothing that had been designed specifically for them.
Guests were already starting to pile into the room by the boatload and looked to have no indication of stopping anytime soon. Salazar and Draco noticed some of their other friends from Hogwarts and asked to go meet with them.
"Very well then," Lucius agreed with his children's request. "But I will come and get you if I feel there is someone important that you must meet. Are we in agreement?"
In response, Lucius received a chorus of yes from both twins. "Good, now run along and have some fun."
Neither blonde needed to be told twice. At once they bolted down a flight of stairs and met with their classmates. Neville was currently in the midst of a conversation with Fred and George, talking about battle strategies and possible pranks for the future while Hermione rolled her eyes and simply listened in.
The conversation came to a halt when they noticed the Malfoy twins approach them. Neville offered the boys an inviting smile and warm welcome. "Hello to you both. How has your summer been so far?"
Salazar and Draco shrugged nonchalantly and both answered, "Okay. How about you?"
"Good, thank you for asking." Neville then turned back to the Weasley twins. "Fred, George, and I were just having a discussion about some potential pranks for the upcoming year at Hogwarts."
"Really?" Draco arched a curious brow at that. "What have you three come up with then?"
"One idea was to feed old Filch's cat some of Dumbledore's precious lemon drops," Neville told them with pride, indicating that it was most likely his idea. "I think that if we do that then the old cat will go crazy and might even target Filch to get more lemon drops."
"Hm," Draco thought over the idea then shrugged. "I'm not sure if that will work. Besides, while I'd love to get some revenge on Filch, I doubt it would take him long to figure us out."
While Draco and Neville continued to argue over whether or not Neville's idea was worth trying, Salazar noticed a blonde haired girl with icy blue eyes approaching him. "Um, hi. Do I know you?" The young wizard asked awkwardly.
The girl shook her head and introduced herself. "Not personally, my name is Luna Lovegood. You're Harry Potter, right?"
"Well…" Salazar paused for a minute, taken off guard by hearing his adoptive name for the first time in weeks, then continued. "I don't go by that name anymore, but yes that would be me."
"Can we go speak in private?"
Salazar hesitated for a second then decided he might as well. "Okay, lead the way."
Luna then dragged the young blonde off and led him to an isolated corner of the room that few currently populated. When they stopped, she turned to face the blonde haired boy and began speaking. "I'm sorry I had to drag you off like that, but I don't want too many people paying attention to me. I get enough problems from that at home, let alone from an entire ballroom of witches and wizards."
Salazar's brows raised at those words. "What do you mean by that Luna?"
The blonde haired witch glanced from side to side before sighing. "People think I'm crazy just because I can see things that they can't. They call me Loony Luna, because I'm such a loon for believing all the things I see are real."
Salazar frowned at that explanation, he didn't believe that she deserved to be treated that way. Even if she could see things others couldn't, who were they all to say that Luna wasn't seeing some rare magical creature that eluded many and only a few gifted could see. "Well, don't worry about that. I won't call you a loon, it wouldn't be right of me to just assume that your crazy."
"Really?" Luna asked in surprise and happiness, her happiness becoming more apparent when Salazar nodded in confirmation. "Thank you so much! You have no idea how much that means to me!"
"I think I can get some sort of a clue," Salazar chuckled, earning a small giggle from Luna. "Now then, about our contract…"
"I think we should get to know each other a bit better. Be friends you know? Then, when we're a little older and marrying age comes around, we can figure things out from there." Luna offered, hoping he would say yes so that she would have a friend.
Salazar thought over her idea for a minute then smiled. "Alright then," Soft music began to play and Salazar blushed as he glanced at Luna. "Would you care to dance?"
"Of course." Luna beamed at him with a bright smile.
Meanwhile:
When Luna had dragged Salazar away, almost everyone failed to notice. Everyone except for Hermione who watched them go with pent up emotion in her eyes. 'I'm only going to be twelve soon, I shouldn't be worrying about stuff like this. Then again, I guess if it were that easy then I would have no problems right now."
Draco approached Hermione and said "Jealous, eh?"
"W-what? No, I'm not jealous. Why would I be jealous? I have nothing to be jealous about."
To Be Continued...
