Disclaimer: Characters, locations, and themes belong to J.K. Rowling, not me. I'm writing for fun and not earning any profit from this story.
CHAPTER 2: Confusion
October 13, 11:46 AM
"What the bloody hell?"
"Seriously, Draco, we've been worried about you," replied Harry Potter, concern written all over his face. "Do you know what time it is?"
"Of course I don't know what time it is you fool!" screamed Draco. All five males in the room jumped at the volume of Draco's voice. "Why. Am. I. Here?"
"We were wondering the same thing, Draco," answered Ron Weasley. "Usually you've run off to the library by now, reading Merlin knows what for hours. You're not sick, are you?" said the redhead as he slowly backed away.
"No, I'm not sick!" Draco vehemently replied.
Weasley's face dropped, a look of concern etched on his face. "Okay, sorry mate…"
Draco couldn't take it anymore. "STOP CALLING ME MATE! NOW, TELL ME WHY I'M IN GRYFFINDOR TOWER OR SO HELP ME…"
"Whoa, Draco, no need to scream at us. We're just concerned," said Potter. "None of us saw you come in last night, so you must have stayed in the library until it closed and made your rounds."
"Rounds?"
"Yeah, prefect duties," stated one of the other boys. Longbottom.
"Don't tell me the smartest wizard in our school and prefect extraordinaire has forgotten about his duties," joked Potter. Draco's scowl, however, made Potter shift his feet and clear his throat. "Bad moment for jokes. I'll stop."
The scowl never left Draco's face as he scanned the faces of the other boys in the room. He knew them all, of course, but he didn't understand why he was waking up to the annoying faces of the Gryffindor gits. What would have led him to this room? How did he even get in the common room without knowing the password? What happened last night?
Last night. What happened in the tower? Did it work?
"Listen mate, we'll give you some space," said Potter. Why does he keep saying that? Mate. Humph. "You clearly need a moment to figure things out but we'll be downstairs when you are ready for lunch."
The other boys left the room to give Draco time to get dressed. He sat on the bed for a few minutes thinking about the previous night. Did it work? The spell changed something but how much did it change? Draco's head turned toward the window to look out at the grounds of Hogwarts. Gradually, his eyes began to scan his surroundings inside the room. Red. Everything is red. He threw the red duvet off of his legs, swung them to the edge, and placed his feet on the floor. Red curtains. Red carpet. I'm stuck in a nightmare. His eyes eventually made their way to the bedside table where an opened letter was left. A hand slowly reached for it while ears carefully listened for signs of people returning to the room.
September 18, 1996
Dear Draco,
It was wonderful receiving your letter. Your father and I are extremely proud of you receiving a prefect position and we hope you are studying hard for all the classes you are taking this year. I'm sure you will send a letter with more details about your prefect responsibilities in a few days.
Your father and I are attending a dentist conference in London next week. We thought it would be wise to tell you ahead of time; I could only imagine the looks on the faces of the other attendees if an owl flew into the conference center with a letter attached to its leg. If you need to send any important messages to us, make sure it is after dinner. We should be in the hotel room at that time.
We do hope you are enjoying your classes and keeping your friends out of trouble. Tell Ron congratulations for making the Quid Itch team.
Stay safe! We love you.
Love,
_ Granger
Wait…
Dentist? What is that? Why would my parents stay in a hotel when they could easily floo to the meeting from the manor? Since when does mother misspell quidditch?
Draco continued to scan the letter for any clues to his mother's nonsensical words. Nothing.
Hold on…this isn't my mothers handwriting.
Love,
_ Granger
Granger?
Draco's head snapped back up to the table, his eyes searching for more letters. A few more were neatly tucked under two stacked books but what truly captured his attention was a picture in a frame. It's not moving. He was in the still image but who were the other two people with their arms casually thrown around him? Draco was smiling in the image and so were the two adults. They look familiar. Grabbing the frame, he stared closely at the picture to make sure nothing was moving. No, nothing.
He unceremoniously laid the framed picture on the table and grabbed the other letters. Scanning the first one, he saw the same salutation. Love, _ Granger. The paper dropped to the floor. The second. Love, _ Granger. Another, on the floor. The third. Love, _ Granger. All of them the same and, now, all of them on the floor.
Oh no. Draco ran for the door but soon realized he was dressed in pyjamas. Looking down at his attire, he groaned when he saw the red stripes. Making his way back to the bed he woke up on, he kneeled down at the end where a trunk sat on the floor. Okay. Breathe. Maybe it won't be bad. Draco's hands slowly lifted the lid, his eyes viewing the contents. Muggle clothing.
"What did I do?"
Grabbing the first items he saw, he hurriedly moved toward the open toilet to dress.
"Granger. She must have done something to the book," he growled. "As soon as I find her…"
The mirror caught his eye, or rather, the person in the mirror. Despite the hideous clothing, he looked almost normal, except for one detail.
Draco reached for his hair with both hands.
"SHIT!"
