Dresia made the trek up the road that lead to the entrance of Hogwarts, taking her time with little concern for the sorting or even the feast itself. She had little appetite after being caught with sloppy glamour charms to make up for the lack of cosmetics she usually indulged. Silently cursing to herself as she used her wand to fix her charms, she realized that if a Gryffindor could spot the sloppy work, every Slytherin in sight would notice. She'd have to take care and tread lightly among her usual Slytherin crowd. Any and every move would be reported by those loyal to the Dark Lord.
Logically, she knew this task to be near impossible. How would a mere student ever overpower Dumbledore himself? Yet, she was assigned to be his executioner. Dres was not ignorant of the potential power play her task was. She was very much aware that completing this task would restore the credibility of her family, but she knew her failure was more likely.
'My failure and death is most likely a punishment for my father's own failures, but I will not give the Dark Lord the satisfaction', Dresia thought to herself. Somehow, some way, she would succeed. If only to spare her mother the pain of watching her only child die from a botched mission.
Dresia walked up to the imposing front door entrance at Hogwarts, only to find Severus Snape glowering at her for her lateness. He was dressed in his usual black attire, with hair as greasy as the last time she remembered seeing it in her home. His billowing cape moving with the chilly night wind. He turned his nose up as Dresia approached, clearly displeased with her arrival.
"How very late you are, Miss Malfoy", Snape commented.
Dresia could only muster a look that portrayed how very much she did not care about her tardiness. Waving her hand flippantly, she walked past him with a slight sway in her hips that was a simple attempt to display her signature arrogance. Snape's eyes narrowed briefly at her response, but he did not think commenting would be the best option. They both knew she was on a mission, and that remaining under the radar was imperative. It wouldn't do for him to deduct points and punish her accordingly, not with the way Snape so favored his little snakes.
Severus quickly strode in front of Dresia, making it obvious she was to follow him to the Great Hall, which she did wordlessly. As he pushed the doors open to reveal them to the school, she schooled her face into the best smirk she could muster and changed her step slightly so that she appeared to own the place.
Several eyes looked on, but the only eyes of importance were those at the Slytherin table. Dresia walked gracefully to an open spot at the table across from Crabbe and Goyle, but next to Daphne. Crabbe and Goyle paid her no mind, clearly more focused on the feast before them, but Daphne's eyes narrowed slightly at Dresia, taking in the state of the Malfoy. Dresia looked her straight in the eye with a menacing gleam that practically dared the other budding woman to comment. She felt a deep sense of relief when Daphne decided against a small confrontation, because she really couldn't handle it on her first day.
Dresia took a moment to look around at the other tables, taking stock of all who was there. When her eyes landed on the Gryffindor table, she caught a set of chocolate brown eyes staring back at her. They belonged to none other then the Gryffindor princess herself, and this caused Dresia to form a near instant sneer of pure disgust for Hermione. How dare the mudblood stare her down after blatantly insulting her in the carriage?
'No matter,' she thought, 'she is not important, but I may have to put my guard higher if she continues to pay attention.' It was then she looked away from the eyes to notice that the once bushy haired girl no longer had something akin to an afro on her head. Instead she had natural honey brown curls that framed her face, and it looked oddly… beautiful on her.
'What the bloody hell am I thinking?', Dresia thought with contempt. Turning back to her food, she ignored the muggleborn witch and forced her out of her thoughts.
Hermione Granger watched Draco saunter into the Great Hall as if she owned them all, arrogance plastered on her face like a second skin. On principle, she despised the snowy blonde, but something had seemed off in the carriage and Hermione wasn't sure if she'd imagined it or not. Examining Draco for any significant differences, she noticed the glamour charms were improved and nearly impossible to spot. Yet the corner of her eyes held stress, her face looked just ever so slightly strained, as if she was forcing her current expression. She carried herself exactly the same, and if one was not paying meticulous attention then they'd be none the wiser to the very subtle signs of difference in Draco.
Hermione was known for her meticulous nature, and intense observationial skills. She knew something was off, even if nobody else saw it. Suddenly, Harry stumbled into the Great Hall, clutching his nose in an attempt to staunch the blood flow coming from it. Hermione moved quickly to his side, worry etched into her face.
"Harry! What happened? Where were you?", she whispered urgently as she pulled out her wand and moved his hand from his face. "Episkey", she whispered with a quick flourish of her wand, giving Harry no time to prepare.
"Augh!", cried Harry, rubbing his nose slightly as the spell did it's work. "Thanks, Hermione.", he said as he sat down. "I was stuck on the train, and if it wasn't for Luna, I'd have never made it here. Malfoy caught me spying, petrified me, and then kicked me in the face. It broke my nose."
Hermione's eyes narrowed, "That foul bloody git. I told you spying on Malfoy was a bad idea."
Hermione ran her fingers through her hair gingerly, clearly thinking. Harry and Ron had engaged in a deep discussion on the things Harry heard while stowed away in Malfoy's compartment. Biting her lip slightly, she decided to compartmentalize her observations of Draco, and redirect her attention to the year ahead of her. This was the year she began N.E.W.T level classes, and Hermione couldn't wait. She'd nearly worked her way through half of her textbooks, and was thrilled with the knowledge she'd acquire this year. Yet, in the back of her mind, she knew she'd need to master everything she could. This war with Voldemort was coming, and she had a suspicion it was coming fast.
Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Draco slipping away from the feast and out of the Great Hall doors. Hermione's eyes narrowed slightly, and she contemplated following her. Making up her mind, she stood abruptly.
"I'm going to the library to get a head start on my studying. I'll see you both in the common room." Ron groaned, and Harry shook his head slightly, but both boys knew better then to argue with Hermione when it came to the library and studying. It was her favorite place, and they knew nothing would divert her from her studies with N.E.W.T level classes this year.
Walking briskly out of the Great Hall, she barely caught the sight of snow colored hair rounding a corner, and curiously in the opposite direction of the dungeons. Hermione followed quickly, attempting to catch up without being noticed. She followed Draco up several floors, and it quickly recognized where she was headed. The Room of Requirement.
Cursing silently to herself, Hermione realized that whatever reason Draco had for heading to the Room of Requirement, it wasn't good. Hermione made a split second decision, acting entirely on impulse.
Quickly she let her wand slide out of its holster on her arm as she sped up to grab Draco's arm. However, Draco suddenly whirled around, wand at the ready and firmly pointed towards Hermione.
Hermione raised her wand accordingly, and narrowed her eyes. There was a tense stand off, lasting several moments before Draco spoke.
"Why are you following me, mudblood?", she spat in Hermione's direction. The tension grew with every second that passed between them. Dresia being entirely on edge, especially so soon after arriving back at school. Her nerves were officially short circuiting, and it showed in the slight tremor of her hands as she held her wand in a death grip.
Unfortunately, her sleeve had slipped just a bit, as the arm she held her wand in happened to be the same arm that the Dark Mark was forced upon. This did not escape Hermione's notice.
"Malfoy, what is that on your arm?", Hermione whispered, entirely ignoring Draco's question. Hermione was horrified as she'd know the look of the Dark Mark anywhere, even at just a glimpse. She knew Draco's father was affiliated with the Deatheaters, but she never imagined they'd indoctrinate somebody so young. Draco was an awful person, but there was much to be said about her character if one watched closely. Draco was a spoiled brat, but she struck nobody outside of Slytherin as potential Deatheater material.
Dresia was cracking, panic setting in. She'd been caught. She'd been caught on the first day, and by one of the Golden Trio at that. Everybody trusted those three, and all it would take was one word from Hermione. She'd be in Azkaban before the night was through.
Hermione watched the sheer panic flit across Draco's face. Her beautiful features marred by the look, and all Hermione could feel was a draw to her. She felt nearly compelled to ease the other girls' pain, but had not a clue how to do so in a way that would be welcomed. Hermione knew what panic felt like, she knew was fear was, and she knew she never wanted another to truly feel that if she could help it.
Suddenly, with a flick of Draco's wand, a spell shot forth towards Hermione. With a quick jump to the side, she narrowly avoided the red color of what might've been a Reducto spell.
"Draco! Stop! I don't want to fight you, especially since the feast will be ending soon. We'll be caught.," Hermione rushed out, hoping the other girl would freeze before decided to launch another spell.
She was in luck, because Dresia stopped mid spell. She was trying to take in Hermione's words, and in her panicked state, her vulnerability showed. Dresia was trembling all over, images of the Dark Lord's wrath flitting through her brain, followed quickly by the horrors that people experienced in Azkaban.
Suddenly, Dresia made a snap decision. She couldn't be caught, and she had absolutely no intention of going without a fight. She had to get out; self preservation demanded it. With a flourish of her wand, she confidently rang out the single word "Obliviate", and pulled the memory of this confrontation from Hermione's mind.
The spell was said so fast, Hermione had no time to react before she blacked out and collapsed from the sudden assault on her mind.
Breathing heavily, Dresia took one look at the slumped girl, and turned on her heel to the nearest route back to the dungeons.
The Room of Requirement can wait for a few days.
Hermione groaned and shifted in her sleep. Something was off though. She wasn't on a bed, in the Gryffindor common room, and she definitely did not hear the soft snores of her roommates. Where was she?
She suddenly became aware of the pain in her head. Had she hit it? Letting out another soft groan, she shifted her body to try and sit up, finally becoming truly aware of her surroundings. She was in an empty corridor. What on earth had happened to her?
Standing, she rubbed her temple, trying to ease the ache behind her forehead. Blinking rapidly, she looked around again and tried to remember how she got there. The last thing she could remember was seeing the Malfoy heir escape the feast far too soon, and due to her suspicions, she went to follow her. After that, it was like looking into a black abyss. Nothing was there.
Raking her fingers through her hair, she became very unsettled. Something had happened, and she needed to know what it was. Quickly she made her way to the Gryffindor common room, wandering through the corridors and halls at a slow pace to account for the severity of her headache. Once she reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, she hastily mumbled the password she'd memorized from before the feast and ignored the Fat Lady's comment about silly children waking her up late into the night.
She found no sight of the boys, so she walked to her room and quickly changed into sleep attire for the night. Drawing the curtain around her bed, she crawled under the covers and closed her eyes.
Only a few moments later, true sleep claimed her.
