Chapter 4 Encounters.
Draco made his way hurriedly down the corridors, brushing passed the bathrooms near the great hall. He had a different destination in mind. He made his way instead towards the staircase and up to the first floor girls lavatory, just one of his secret sanctuaries. Technically, he thought sarcastically, I am going to a bathroom.
He moved quickly and quietly, keeping an eye out for Filch, not wanting to explain why he was wandering about the castle and not at the feast on his first day back. When he got to the bathroom he peeked around, checking to see if Myrtle was about. Thankfully, she seemed to be otherwise occupied at the moment. While he was pleased she wasn't around now, he did hope he would eventually get the chance to see her and talk with her again soon. Taking one last look around he went into the 3rd stall and clicked the lock shut.
Breathing heavily, Draco retrieved the intricate silver gilded dagger from his robes. So many errant thoughts were flying through his head so fast he couldn't keep track. His heart raced wildly in his chest. He wasn't as prepared as he thought to face Hogwarts. Its too much, he thought wildly. I can't do this. I can't face them, everyday. Everyone, together. Blaise and Pansy were bad enough but to know he would be sharing space with the golden trio themselves, not to mention every other person from every other house, people who he had treated cruelly in the past, was far too overwhelming.
I can't do this. I can't do this. The words repeated in his head like a mantra as he carefully lifted the dagger and bit it into the giving flesh of his arm. The blade, which he sharpened daily, cut trough his skin so smoothly, never hitching, leaving a perfect line of crimson red in its wake. Draco shuddered from the pleasure of it. He breathed deeply, finally catching his breath, and smiled as he slashed another line neatly underneath the first. He continued like this until there were 5 perfect lines dripping slowly down his arm. He gazed blankly at the display for a while, his cold eyes roiling like liquid mercury. Finally, deciding that the feast was probably almost over and he could sneak back undetected, he muttered a quick spell to slow the bleeding, but not to heal the cuts themselves, and headed back for the Great Hall.
From the Gryffindor table Harry watched wordlessly as Draco slipped away from his own table and disappeared off into the hallway. But before Harry could even contemplate what that might mean, Ron was already in his face complaining about all the attention the new professor was receiving from the girls. (and even some of the boys!)
"Lousy git, thinks he can just waltz in here and make everyone love him. Did you see the look on Hermoine's face when McGonagall introduced him? Like a bloody cat in heat. I don't see whats so great about tall impossibly handsome men anyway." Harry had tried to drown out Ron's whining as the meal wore on and forgot about Draco's mysterious departure from the meal. Disregarding Ron's apparent jealousy, however, Harry had to admit the was a strange aura about Professor Albatross. Though, he felt he could understand where the girls were coming from, the man seemed to exude a sensuality not unlike lava, slowly burning and filling every crevice until it had fully taken hold.
Wait a minute, what? Harry shook his head firmly, clearing the idea from his mind.
"8th years will follow me to the Dumbledore Spire. All others will follow your respective heads of house to your dormitories." Headmistress McGonagall spoke at the end of the meal. Students began filing out, bubbling with animated tension and anticipation. It was then that Harry noticed that Malfoy had never returned. Curious.
Draco rounded the stairway towards the dull fervor of voices when suddenly he found himself running smack into none other that the new Potions master and 8th year adviser, Professor Albatross.
"Mr. Malfoy." The sleek man purred at a startled Draco. Draco racked his brain. How did this man know his name.
" I memorized all the 8th year students names and faces." he spoke automatically, as if reading Draco's thoughts. "So are you going to tell me what you are doing so far off from the other students? If I recall correctly, Dumbledore Spire is in the other direction." Something about the way this man spoke to Draco sent a chill down his spine. It wasn't so much that his voice seemed cold, as one might imagine based on his looks, but rather the hint of yearning that strained his voice. Moreover, that professor's eyes appeared to become luminescent with each passing moment.
Draco shifted uncomfortably where he stood, avoiding the teachers penetrative stare. "I just," Draco said, stumbling over his words, "It's just that I prefer the bathrooms upstairs." Draco spat out, finally regaining some of his former bravado. "Much cleaner, really. And more private. No nosy first years to pester me with questions about the war or our beloved Harry Potter." The truth was that none of the first years, even ones in the Slytherin house, had even dared to look at Draco, let alone approach him. Rather they regarded him with nervous eyes and shied away when he came near them. As they should, he thought bitterly.
Now Draco saw that Professor Albatross was no longer looking him in the eyes, rather he was staring down at Draco's arm. Draco's eyes flashed quickly to his arm, paranoid momentarily that his cuts were visible, but as he looked he saw to his relief that they were in fact, still concealed under the fabric of his robes.
"Am I boring you?" Draco scoffed haughtily, he voice betraying him only the slightest bit.
"Not at all." The professor replied in his silky voice, breaking from his previous trance. "But perhaps you should accompany me to your new common room along with the others." Professor Albatross smirked as the reluctant Draco simply nodded and began to follow him.
