Shadows
Year One, Chapter One: New Friends
Story Start/ Charlotte Potter's first year:
"Malfoy, wait up." I called, walking quickly after him.
"Why should I?" He asked.
"I made a huge mistake on the train." I told him and he turned around.
I saw the hope in his eyes before he masked it. He had me follow him into an empty classroom.
"What finally made you figure it out?" Draco asked, his voice slightly warmer than his usual frigid tone that he used with me.
"He expects me to be someone I'm not, and he hates my real self when I even hint at it. I don't belong in Gryffindor. I'm asking… no, I'm begging, you to give me a chance to be your friend. Please." I knew I sounded desperate, but I only had two friends, the Weasley twins, that I liked. Hermione was new because I saved her, so I didn't know her well enough to judge.
Draco was silent, thinking it over. "I can try. But do not expect me to go Light. I will not be friendly to people I hate that you like. Lastly, this will not be a secret friendship."
"Fair enough." I told him.
"I want you to spend an hour to two hours a day with me, talking, hanging out, doing homework… whatever you want. Knowing more about each other will make us closer, something friends should be." He told me.
"Can you also teach me more about wizards and how things work in your culture? It's my world now, the one I want to be in, and knowing more about it can only help." I asked.
"Of course. I'll send for father to send books on traditions, philosophies, culture, laws, politics, history, etiquette, and the books every wizard knows. There's plenty of them but you need them." He smiled. "It'll be overwhelming, definitely, but take a chapter at a time and you'll be done by Yule."
"Malfoy-"
"It's Draco." He interrupted.
"Then I'm Charlotte." I told him. "Can you tell me why you wanted to be my friend?"
"When we first met, at Madam Malkin's, I thought you were sweet and you seemed innocent: in our culture, it's rare for someone to actually be nice without motives. We're brought up to not trust anyone, to keep distant and keep our masks up. If someone shows weakness, then we're to use it. We don't make friends: we make allies, so when I met you I thought that I could actually have a real friend, besides Daphne, Blaise, and Theo. When I found out who you were on the train, I knew that befriending you would be risky because of my family's affiliations and how I would be viewed, but I thought an actual friend would be worth it. I also wanted to protect you and help you. When you rejected me, it hurt so bad because I honestly wanted you to be my friend and you thought I wasn't worth it. I'm just glad you changed your mind." He told me and I could tell he was honest.
"Me too. Your answer proved that I had made a huge mistake choosing Ron. He befriended me because I was the Girl-Who-Lived, not because of who I really am. You wanted to be my friend before you even knew my name." I smiled at him. "But what did you mean by befriending me would be risky?"
He sat down on a chair and had me sit down across from him.
"There is so much you don't know about our world… do you know anything about the Dark side's views?" Draco asked and I thought.
"No. I get that they were evil-"
"Both sides are evil. Both sides murdered and tortured, both sides lied to the masses, both had their views and wanted to crush the opposing side. The Light won and covered their evil deeds, wrote the history books, and influenced the masses. The Dark lost and became the scapegoats. I am not saying the Dark is good. They are far from it. Don't join a side because you think it's right, do it if you actually believe in their ideas." Draco corrected.
"Alright. I know nothing." I said.
"The Dark believes foremost that the Ministry needs to be completely destroyed then rebuilt as an entirely new system. It is corrupt and ineffective. The educational system needs some major work, every law needs to be gone through, and they want all magic to be studied and used. The Dark views our society as too weak and that we need much more work. We also believe that Muggles are inferior to wizards." Draco said the last hesitantly.
"You said we. So, you're dark?" I asked.
He nodded, clearly worried about my reaction.
"Relax. I said I wanted to be your friend and I meant it. This won't wreck anything, especially because I want to know and learn about this. I'm not yet on a specific side and I won't be unless I believe in most of what that side believes, or the offer is great enough to sway me." I told him and he relaxed. "I imagine your family at least agreed with Voldemort."
"The Dark Lord. Be respectful." He told me. "And we wanted him to take over. You stopped it from happening, making you into the least liked person on our side. If you stay an enemy to the Dark, I'll be considered a traitor, which, besides me wanting you alive, is the main reason I will influence you. This friendship has the potential to ruin me, but I'm staying with you as long as you want me to."
"I swear you should be a Hufflepuff." I teased and he rolled his eyes.
"Dark and Hufflepuff do not go together. I'm loyal to only a select few, the rest have to watch their backs around me." He told me. He looked at his watch. "Defense starts in twenty minutes. We'd better get a move on. I get an uneasy feeling around Quirrel… I don't want to test him."
We walked together to the classroom, some of the passerby staring when they saw we weren't arguing. We reached the classroom with ten minutes to spare. The door was open so Draco walked in.
"Good morning, sir." Draco said to Quirrel, bowing his head as a sign of respect.
"Good morning Draco. You know where to hand in your homework." He greeted.
"I thought we just had reading to do." I was panicking. "I apologize. I was paying attention, I swear."
"Draco has different assignments than you do. He shouldn't be in first year for this, he's in fourth year by my testing, but Dumbledore won't let him test out, so I'm tutoring him two hours a day in magic and having him do all of the theory in class, as well as the homework. I keep records of everything I say in class so he just reads that here. You were right, though, about your work. You have it done?" He explained.
"Yes. I have some questions, though. Don't laugh at them… I can't help that I didn't grow up with any hint of magic." I said and he made a go-ahead gesture. "What goes into classifying magic and creatures as dark, light, or neutral? For wizards, I know it's philosophies and a stance on whatever war is going on. I had assumed Dark was evil by what my house said, but Draco said both sides were and I'm inclined to believe him there, so I'm back to not knowing. I read the entire book but didn't find the answer."
"For magic, dark is magic that has effects that are dangerous, harmful, or unpleasant. Light has positive effects, neutral is neither or on objects. Creatures are all dark, no matter what, because of the Ministry's idiotic classification: any creature that poses a threat to humans is dark."
"Even Flubberworms, because they pose a tripping hazard." Draco put in a bit. "Almost anything can pose a threat to a person. Anything that is labeled dark is regulated, so it's a fuck-you to the creature world… sorry, sir."
"I've heard worse. Draco's right… the Ministry doesn't view people who are afflicted with creature blood or magic as humans, instead as something to fear and regulate, so they call them dark to restrict them while seeming like it's for the public's good."
"What does the Dark view them as?" I asked and Quirrel looked surprised.
"They're magic and thus, they are worthy of rights." Quirrel put it succinctly.
"And the Light?" I asked.
"They haven't done anything in the centuries they've been in charge about it, so they either don't care, support the laws, or are the ones who made the laws." Quirrel said.
He watched me for my reaction.
"You seem angry."
"They lied." I said. "Of course I'm angry. The Light had plenty of creature support because they offered benefits. The war has been over for about a decade. Where are the benefits?"
Hermione walked in afterwards. "There you are, Charlotte. I assume you and Draco are trying to get along now?"
Quirrel looked curious.
"Yeah. Fixed that huge mistake." I replied.
"Good. I can't handle idiots… Ron's the worst one I've met." Hermione looked relieved. "At least Draco has brains and uses them."
Hermione sat down in the front and I sat to her right, Draco to mine. Draco took out a book in some language I hadn't even heard of, a journal, ink, and a quill, then began translating it to English. Hermione looked fascinated by it.
"It's a book in the demonic language dated back to somewhere in the BC's, this one is all about the development of life and death rituals. I'm translating it not only to English, but to common terms we use today, except for the spells which I leave intact. Every hundred years this book is copied so it survives, otherwise the knowledge would be lost. There are only twenty lines in the world who speak it still today because we were at one point hunted down and killed due to our power and knowledge. We have our branch of magic and right to use it protected due to an ancient law that was passed in return for us becoming neutral for five hundred years. My great-grandfather was the last one bound to that law. Anyway, Daemon, pronounced demon, was the developer of this language, a code-language infused with magic used in rituals and some other branches of magic, and it was only taught to the followers and the families of them. I'm translating books for Professor Quirrel in exchange for being mentored by him and having access to his private library." Draco explained.
"What would I need to do to have you let me read one book?" Hermione asked.
Draco looked at Quirrel.
"I give you permission." Quirrel said.
"Why do you need to give permission?" I asked.
"The translations are my property due to the deal. Because it was in an exchange, Draco cannot give an object in the exchange to another for a price valued less than what we agreed upon, otherwise he will no longer get mentored by me. Basically, it's made so he doesn't short me out of the deal. If Hermione got them for nothing while I offered time and knowledge, which to him is priceless, in return for those items, Draco would owe me a debt that in this case he wouldn't be able to get out of. We signed a contract, making our word law. Anyway, Draco needed to ask permission because only I can let him off the hook for this. I'll get the translation first. Draco, your deal?"
"You do not tell anyone about the knowledge you gain, discuss the books existence, or hint at it, unless I give permission. You read the entire book I give you and ask questions, giving the knowledge a fair chance. You may believe as you want, but you need to think deeply about it and talk with me about it. You put up with me being friends with Charlotte and don't try to get her to leave me. You at least are polite to me unless I am rude to you. You give me a chance." Draco listed his demands.
"Done." Hermione didn't take long at all to decide and was startled when she felt magic bind her to it.
"Then you may read any translations Professor Quirrel lets you." Draco said and Hermione beamed.
"Professor, can Charlotte have one too?" Draco asked.
He considered for two minutes, then smiled. "Yes. Same deal regarding the knowledge, only you will keep an open mind to everything Draco shows or teaches you that you know aren't lies and that you will learn about wizard culture."
"I accept." I said, seeing nothing bad about the deal and felt magic enter and bind me to my word.
"Can you teach me about wizard culture too?" Hermione asked.
"Go ahead, Draco. It won't hurt. You're already giving her knowledge she can't find anywhere else… a friendship would be wise." Quirrel told Draco.
"You are telling my father that it was your idea." Draco sighed.
"You are on your own for befriending Charlotte though."
"But you backed me up." Draco tried.
"It still was your decision. You made it." Quirrel argued.
"Still, if you back me up then he'll calm down and accept it." Draco was almost begging.
"Fine. But you owe me." Quirrel relented.
I caught a bit of fear in Draco's eyes before he masked it away.
"Yes, sir." He agreed. "I apologize for arguing with you."
Quirrel looked pleased with him. "I accept it, however you need to work on how you talk to me. You are still a child and I allow more mistakes because of that, but as you grow older I will get less lenient. This time it was allowed because it's in private and you are risking quite a bit, even with my support. But you will never argue with me in public. Ever."
"Yes, sir. I forgot myself." Draco had his head bowed.
"Relax. You aren't in trouble. For today's work, you are to read and take notes on the next three chapters on modern Dark curses. When you're certain you understand, continue translating the book. You will have a reading quiz on the chapters you are to read on Saturday at seven AM sharp, then you are to do your homework you haven't finished and we'll work on any questions, any subject, as usual until you have no questions. Sunday will be practical work." He instructed, and Draco immediately got his book out and began reading.
"Sir, may I use post-it notes? I forgot mine." Draco said and Quirrel got out two stacks from his drawer, putting it on his desk.
"Honestly, the door is open. It means I'm in here, come in." Quirrel looked exasperated but went to the door. "Come in."
The class filed in. Draco's three real friends, at least I think they are given by how the four act, sat by on his side.
"Charlotte, Hermione, these are my three best friends: Theodore Nott, the taller boy with brown hair and glasses, Blaise Zabini-"
"Also known as pretty boy." The girl smirked at Blaise.
"I can't help it that I look like a god. You're blessed to be in my presence, because you, hate to break it to you, look completely mortal and plain." Blaise retorted.
"Can you get any more shallow and obsessed with yourself?" The girl sighed.
"I doubt it. He isn't even worthy of that arrogance." Hermione smirked and the girl grinned.
"I'm Daphne Greengrass, the Ice Queen. I think we'll get along great." She smiled.
"You aren't plain at all. You're in the top two of prettiest girls in our year." Hermione said. "Charlotte being first."
Daphne was extremely beautiful. She had glossy black hair to her mid-back, was taller than me by a couple inches, was thin, and had turquoise eyes, pouty full lips, a beautiful face that was extremely feminine.
I rolled my eyes. "Please, I'm not even close to pretty."
Draco sighed and kept his voice quiet. "Charlotte, you look like your mother almost exactly. Your eyes are even brighter and more ethereal, the color of the killing curse, while your mother's were just emerald. Your hair is a pretty shade of red, almost orange but natural looking, and you don't have freckles, a huge plus. It's long and curly… I find curls more interesting and appealing than straight hair unless you're a guy, which you aren't, and long hair looks good on you. You have very pale skin that's clear, making you look like a doll, a pretty and delicate face, you are petite and slender. I find you to be extremely attractive."
I smile at him. I had never been called pretty before, mainly because I was in Petunia's old and ratty clothes she wore when she was a child in the sixties. I was always shy and insecure, made worse by the constant bullying Dudley and his gang put me through, the rumors Petunia spread about me, the neglect and abuse I was put through by my so-called family, and being shunned at school. I had never been treated any way but horribly by Muggles, so being in the Wizarding world was an entirely new and sometimes unsettling experience. I hated how people thought they knew everything about me and loved me for something beyond my control and that in reality, I probably didn't do. I hated being in the spotlight, being whispered about, the constant staring and questions about that night and my scar, the attention I got… I wanted to be invisible. Draco, however, seemed to be one of the rare people who liked me for me and I absolutely loved that, even though I felt a bit uncomfortable about being complimented.
"You'll see it in time. I mean it, Charlotte. You're beautiful." Draco catches on to some of my thoughts and his honesty makes my smile widen. "After class, I want you to tell me why you're so insecure."
I know I stopped smiling. I just wasn't sure if I could open up to him so soon, but then I felt hope. Maybe he could help me.
"I will." I tell him.
I noticed Quirrel was still in earshot and I looked at him. He looked intrigued. At first I was nervous, but then I realized that having an authority figure and adult on my side that knew what happened would be a major asset. I decided to have Draco tell him because Draco seemed to have rapport with Quirrel and might have a better shot at getting him to believe me. I was constantly called a liar by every adult I told about being abused and didn't want the same to happen now.
Quirrel began roll call and Draco began reading the chapters he was assigned. After that, Quirrel began speaking.
"Today, we'll be learning shields. Technically, this is in the fourth year curriculum, but this spell is easy enough to master and vital for every witch and wizard to know." Quirrel tells us. "The incantation is Protego. I want everyone to say it, one at a time."
I was first, and after we all went, Quirrel demonstrated the wand movements and had us mimic them one at a time, then had us put both together.
"Now, to make it work, I want you to imagine the person or thing you love most is in danger, and this spell can save them. I need you to want them to be shielded. Charlotte, come up here and aim at the desk. You'll do it until the shield works." Quirrel tells me.
I struggled to come up with something I loved. I hadn't had many possessions, certainly nothing I was attached to, my parents were just ideas and I didn't know them, Muggles were horrid to me… I decided to try my parents anyway. I focused on a picture of them and cast the spell, but it did nothing. I tried it two more times.
"Sir, I don't have anyone or anything I love. I don't think I can do this." I tell Quirrel, frustrated.
"What about an idea? I always had to imagine I was the only one who could protect knowledge." Quirrel suggests, looking a bit intrigued.
I tried peace, happiness, love, hope. None of it worked. Then I realized I was focusing on what I should want… then I smiled. Magic and power, the reason why I'm here, in a place I can have friends, where I can be accepted, where I can be loved.
"Protego." I cast, and this time a visible wall appears. I grin, excited.
"Impressive. Twenty points to Gryffindor for the best shield I've seen a young witch make." Quirrel looks pleased. "You may start on your reading and notes for the next class. The assignment is on the board."
I work on it, only paying attention with Hermione, who managed it on her first try but it was still weak, then Ron, who couldn't do it in eight minutes. Quirrel was frustrated and made him sit down.
"Neville, is that your own wand?" Quirrel asks when Neville has difficulties.
"No sir. It's my father's." Neville replies.
"Stay after class. I'm going to take you to get a new one. you are intelligent and more than capable of doing this spell. You're doing everything right. Your wand is what limits you." Quirrel tells him.
"Gran won't like it." Neville tells him fearfully.
"Don't tell her, then. Keep Frank's wand on you when you're at home and she won't suspect anything." Quirrel tells him. "You may sit down."
The bell rings and Draco has me follow him to the dungeons.
"Power." Draco says to a moldy wall, and the door opens. Draco leads me into the Slytherin common room and to his room, which had two beds, one unused. "We sleep two to a room, and there's five boys. I lucked out and got my own room."
He hands me a drink. "It's butterbeer, a Wizarding drink."
I try it and find I love it, and sit down on the unused bed. Draco sits on his bed, facing me. I look around the room. Draco had a king-sized bed with white silk sheets and a black comforter, a large black dresser, a desk and chair, bookshelves, a blue rug, and a couch. My attention was drawn to an elaborate cauldron next to the closet.
"That's a Pensieve. It stores memories and lets people watch them after they're in the Pensieve. I haven't used it yet." Draco explains, noticing what I was looking at.
"How do you put your memories in it?" I ask.
"You put your wand to you head and think about the memory until a silver strand appears on the tip of your wand then put it in the Pensieve, and the memory will detach itself." Draco explains.
"Can I use it to show you the answer to why I have no confidence?" I ask.
"Of course."
It takes several attempts, but I managed to get three memories of the worst of the abuse and bullying. I'm surprised when I feel tears run down my face. Draco wraps his arms around me and pulls me into a hug, and I'm tense because I couldn't remember ever being held. That makes me cry harder, and I feel feel a hand tenderly wipe away my tears, the other hand holding me close to him and gradually I relax into the embrace. It feels wonderful, and I finally feel like someone cares about me. I stop crying slowly and my breathing returns to normal. He continues to hold me even after I stopped crying, and I don't want him ever to let go, because I feel so safe and happy. After he's sure I'm fine, he lets go.
"I'm going to watch your memories." Draco tells me, and he kneels, then sticks his head in the cauldron.
… Draco's POV:
The first memory took place when Charlotte was around five, in a cookie-cutter suburban Muggle home. Charlotte was tiny, way too thin, in rags that I wouldn't put a house-elf in. She was far too pale as well, and she was shaking with terror. Seconds later, I see why. A monstrosity of a man walked in the room, face red with rage.
"You little piece of shit! How dare you cheat off hardworking students! There's no other way you could have beat Dudley in grades, you don't even know how to read, write, spell, or do math!" The man yelled and Charlotte looked even more frightened than before.
"B-but sir, if I can't read, how could I cheat off someone?" Charlotte states the obvious and that made matters worse.
The man slaps her hard, bringing tears to her eyes when the mark bruises almost instantly, but she refuses to make a noise. He picks her up by her collar and throws her into a wall, and I hear a crack, then Charlotte wail while she holds her clearly broken arm. I flinch when the man kicks her arm, and Charlotte screams. The man slapped her again.
"The louder you scream, the worse this will get. Shut up and take it, freak!" The man says and stamps on both her legs, breaking bones, and Charlotte's face drains of color and she begins to lose consciousness. The man goes to a different room and reappears with a knife. He pulls off Charlotte's shirt and forces her so her back is to him, then begins cutting words into her back as Charlotte struggles and cries. I can't even watch this… I look away, then withdraw from the Pensieve, not before seeing the word Freak etched on her back.
I look at Charlotte and she sees my horror and shock.
"We need to get you out of there. Put as many memories as you can in that, and I'll get Quirrel so he can get a social worker. There may have to be a trial but if you don't do this, you'll be killed by them. Please, Charlotte… I don't want to go to your funeral." I take charge. Charlotte puts memories in, and I go to Severus first.
I barge into his office and he looks up.
"You've got to help… Charlotte showed me a memory and she's being abused, badly. Get Kirsten… I need to get Quirrel." I tell him, panting because I ran all the way there.
Severus looked stunned, knowing I wouldn't lie and that from my face, I was understating things. He nods and heads to the Ministry, and I dash to the Dark Lord's quarters. I knock.
"Enter." He tells me.
I explain everything I saw.
"Charlotte can be persuaded. I know she hates Muggles… I can turn her." I tell him, and he smiles, pleased.
"How long will it take?" He asks.
"Less than a year." I reply.
He follows me to my dorms, where Severus, Kirsten Archer (a social worker), my aunt Andromeda (a prosecution lawyer who mainly dealt in abuse cases, Muggle and wizard, who I had never met), her husband Ted Tonks, who worked with her in cases as a paralegal , their daughter and an Auror Nymphadora Tonks, a team of Aurors, and Evan Rookwood who was a former Death Eater that now works as an Unspeakable wait. Evan uses spells to verify that the memories are true.
"Standard protocol. All are reliable. Ms. Potter, who do you want to see the memories?" Evan asks.
"Both Professors, Andromeda, Ted, Kirsten, and Draco." Charlotte says.
"I'd rather comfort you. You need it and I can't watch any more." I tell her. I sit next to her and hold her for hours while everyone watched the memories. She cuddles close, clearly needing comfort and I give that to her, holding her tightly.
"Thank you... you may have just saved my life." She tells me.
A/N:
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