Chapter 4: Desire
"You alright?" asked Luke at lunch the next day.
Draco looked up from his still full plate. "Brilliant," he said briskly. How could he even begin to tell him that, during the course of one night, he found out that everything he thought about Muggles was a lie, and he came face to face with the Dark Lord, though he didn't know that?
Luke didn't seem convinced. "Are you nervous about the flying lesson?"
Draco grasped at the opportunity. "A little," he said, trying to look embarrassed.
The truth was that he really was nervous about flying. He hated heights – something his father always scorned him for. But he wasn't in full panic mode like he would be any other day. Somehow, the prospect of falling from a great height and breaking his neck wasn't his biggest worry right now.
He risked a glance towards the High Table. Quirell looked like his usual fidgety self, his turban back in place. Hadn't it been for that bad feeling he always got when he was in his presence, Draco might have actually thought he had dreamed last night.
"Don't worry," Luke said smirking. "I'll catch you if you fall."
Draco didn't find that very reassuring but he nodded.
After lunch, the two boys headed outside, to the spot where their first flying lesson would take place. Draco stood by a broomstick next to Luke, his mind elsewhere.
What was he going to do about Quirell? He knew the smart thing would be to keep it to himself. If he said anything, not only would his father punish him severely, but also nobody would believe him.
But he couldn't just do nothing. The Dark Lord made it clear. After he took that Philosopher's Stone – whatever that was – he would be back to full power. And then the first thing he'd do would be to kill Harry Potter. And, as much as the boy gave him the creeps, it didn't sit right with him to just let him die.
"Up," he said half-heartedly, to which the broomstick didn't respond.
And Potter wouldn't be the only one who would be in danger. Draco cast a sideways glance to Granger, who was standing at the other side of Luke, trying to make her broomstick come to her hand. The Muggle-borns would be high on Voldemort's kill list.
"Up."
Draco didn't actually consider Granger his friend or anything. He didn't even like her. She was a frustrating bossy know-it-all. But he didn't really want to see her get killed.
All in all, Draco wished he'd stayed in bed last night.
"UP!"
Suddenly, the broomstick went upright and smacked him right in the nose.
"Ow!"
Most Gryffindors and a few Slytherins laughed. Draco spotted Potter among them.
Well, maybe I won't mind that much if the Dark Lord kills him, he thought darkly.
After everyone had mounted their brooms, Madam Hooch told them to hover for a few seconds and come right back down. Draco felt the panic get a grip on him but – thank Merlin – before the whistle blew, Longbottom shot up in the sky and then fell on the ground with force. He didn't feel guilty at all for letting out a sigh of relief when Madam Hooch left to take him to the hospital wing. He was fairly certain that, if his feet had left the ground, he would be the one being led to the infirmary.
There was some murmuring between some of the students left behind but he didn't pay much attention to it, as he was now back to pondering what to do about Quirell. However, Potter's voice snapped him back to reality.
"Malfoy, give it back!"
Draco looked at the boy, startled. "What?"
"You took Neville's Remembrall! I saw it roll towards you and now it's gone."
"What are you-"
"You stole it!" Weasley said as well, and then more and more Gryffindors chimed in.
"SHUT UP!" Draco's voice rose above everyone else's.
Everybody's eyes were now on his flashed face. "I didn't steal anything! Why on earth would I want that stupid ball?"
"Where did it go, then?" countered Weasley. "Maybe it grew wings and flew away?"
"Yeah, Draco, where did it go?" joined Luke as well.
Draco turned to Luke with narrowed eyes. Luke stared back innocently.
Draco wasn't fooled. "Give it to me, Luke."
"Come and get it!" laughed Luke, abandoning all pretense, and grabbed a broom. "Catch me if you can!" he shouted and kicked off the second before Draco reached him.
Draco expected him to have the same fate with Neville. The fact that the boy flew really well infuriated him even more.
"You are so dead, Castellan!"
Luke laughed as he quickly zoomed past him. "You gotta catch me first!"
"You're not seriously thinking about it?" said Granger in her usual bossy manner. "You'll get killed! Or worse, expelled!"
Draco was actually tempted to mount a broom as well, but self-preservation was a strong instinct. He just stood there seething as Luke circled above them, taunting him. "Aren't you going to come and get this?" he shouted showing him the transparent little ball.
"Hey!" yelled Potter. "That's not yours!"
"If you can take it from me, you can have it!" Luke dared the Boy-Who-Lived.
Potter's eyes sparked. Before anyone could stop him, he grabbed a broom and, in seconds, he was on the air, flying towards Luke.
The blond boy smirked before he started flying away. "Now it's getting interesting!"
The first years watched the two boys maneuvering through the air with stunned expressions. Both boys were naturals and, almost, equals. After both boys managed to pull out of a very dangerous-looking dive, they heard a very strict voice.
"Mr. Potter and Mr. Castellan!" shouted Professor McGonagall. "On the ground, now!"
Both of them obeyed. Once they were standing in front of her, the professor glared at the two boys.
"What were you two thinking? You could have gotten yourselves killed! Explain yourselves!"
"Luke stole Neville's Remembrall!" interfered Weasley.
McGonagall turned to Luke with a stern expression. "Is this true?"
The boy smiled innocently as he raised the small ball. "I was just taking a look at it."
"Fifty feet in the air?" she said, exasperated.
He shrugged. "The light's better there."
McGonagall pursed her lips, but somehow looked a bit softened. "You will hand over the object to me, which in turn I shall return to Mr. Longbottom. Twenty points are taken from Slytherin, plus ten more points for flying when specifically instructed not to. And ten points from Gryffindor, as well." Potter opened his mouth to object, but McGonagall interrupted him. "I'm not hearing it, Mr. Potter! You disobeyed your teacher, too. And you will both receive detentions."
This time both boys began to protest, but the professor silenced them with a stern glare. "And now, both of you, follow me."
The two boys followed the Transfiguration professor numbly, probably wondering what else she would find to punish them with.
"What an idiot," muttered Draco shaking his head as he started walking back to the castle.
"He's lucky he didn't get expelled," said Granger joining him and her tone reminded him of McGonagall.
"He's lucky he didn't fall to his death."
The girl raised an eyebrow. "You're scared of heights, aren't you?"
"Shut up, Granger."
She shrugged. "I'm not too thrilled about flying, either," she said. "I mean what's the purpose of endangering yourself every time you want to go somewhere? Just use Apparition!"
"Not to mention the Floo Network, or the Knight Bus."
"And what's all the fuss about Quidditch? Just flying around throwing balls? It's idiotic!"
"And a waste of time! They could spend this time to actually do something productive."
"Like reading!"
"Even reading is much more preferable than-"
He stopped talking abruptly when they entered the entrance hall, because there he spotted Quirell.
Voldemort just saw him with a Muggle-born.
He had to think quick. "Why are you following me, you filthy Mudblood?" he snapped at her and fled the hall before he saw the hurt look on her face.
Luke decided that he'd never tell Draco that Harry Potter was actually an alright guy. He certainly enjoyed their joined efforts to come up with names to call Filch as they were scrubbing the floors of the fifth floor.
"Just two more classrooms," muttered Harry before he added another swear word.
But they had to admit, it had been worth it – even if they got a week detention. Right after the incident with the Remembrall, McGonagall led them, first to Oliver Wood, then to Professor Snape. Harry had joined the Gryffindor Qudditch team at once. As for Luke, Snape would get him to play for Slytherin as soon as there was a vacancy in the team.
He and Harry entered the classroom before last and looked curiously at the object on a desk at the far end of the room. It was a mirror, and there was an inscription on top of it.
"Desire?" said Luke, squinting.
"Erised," corrected Harry. "Why do you think it's here?"
"One way to find out," said Luke and walked forward.
The two boys stood in front of the mirror, expecting something to happen. But all they saw was themselves.
"Great," said Luke, disappointed. "It's not even magical." He walked away from the mirror to start scrubbing again. Suddenly, Harry gasped.
"What?" he asked.
Harry glanced behind him, but there was no one there.
"What?" Luke repeated.
"I-" Harry looked intently at his reflection. "I think I can see my parents," he whispered.
Luke stared at him, shocked. He went and stood next to Harry again, but he still couldn't see anything but their reflections.
"They disappeared," said Harry in a disappointed whisper.
"Maybe you should stand alone in front of the mirror to see them," suggested Luke.
"Maybe…" said Harry. "Do you think you'll be able to see your parents if you stood here alone?"
Luke shrugged. "Let's find out."
Harry stood aside and Luke gazed at the mirror. At first, nothing happened. Then…
Luke gasped loudly. He didn't see his parents. What he saw was himself… but different.
He was older, taller and stronger. He looked confident and proud. He had laurels on his head. All around him, he could see other demigods from Camp Half-blood, all looking at him with admiration. Among them, he saw Draco. He was standing in the background, no one paying attention to him as everybody watched at Luke. He, too, had an awed expression on his face. Luke spotted his father standing at the back. Hermes was watching his son, looking most proud.
He was the hero. He had saved Olympus…
Desire… he mused.
Suddenly, his mesmerized expression was replaced with one of horror.
"You are planning to be the greatest hero of all time, aren't you?" the Sorting Hat's words echoed to his mind. "That's why you wish to see Draco fail – to prove that the Fates are wrong."
"Are you alright?" asked Harry nervously.
Luke took a deep breath to calm himself. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"So? Do you see your parents?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah." It wasn't totally a lie. He could still see his father, watching him with a broad smile.
But it was Draco who held his gaze. His almost reverent expression was what sobered him. Draco would never look at him like that. Even if he saved the world – even if he became the greatest hero of all times. This was just a silly dream that would never be fulfilled. Thank the gods.
Because now Luke knew – he would make a really bad hero. Even if he managed to save Olympus, he wouldn't be able to stop there. He knew it. He would want to go even higher. Maybe even… challenge the gods?
Hubris. That was his fatal flaw. It was so obvious now.
No, it had to be someone else. A half-blood of the eldest gods…
Could it really be Draco though? he wondered as he was walking back to the Slytherin common room after his detention was over.
The Oracle had promised it would be him. "He shall be the one you seek/ The hero of Olympus and the Ghost King…"
But the boy was one of the least heroic people he had ever met. And he was actually getting worse.
Luke had intentionally approached Hermione all those times, hoping that Draco would see sense and forget about his prejudices. Hermione was the perfect candidate for that. She was really smart and the best witch of their year. He thought that it would be enough for Draco to see that the notion that Muggle-borns were inferior was unfounded.
At the beginning, things were looking up. Draco hadn't accepted Hermione but he tolerated her, even if it was for Luke's sake. Also, Hermione's revelation that Muggles had been to the moon seemed that it had shaken the boy a little. But after Draco's talk with Snape they were right back where they started. He was once more really cold with Hermione and made sure to avoid her whenever he could. Luke, of course, wasn't that disheartened at the time. He knew this would take time…
But the last week the situation deteriorated even more. Suddenly, Draco was downright hostile towards Hermione. Whenever he saw her, he would loudly make degrading comments about her and her parents. He did the same with others, too – mostly to Muggle-borns, but not only. Harry Potter also received the same treatment, as well as Ron Weasley. Luke once had to step in before Draco could challenge the two boys to a duel.
Honestly, Luke didn't know what to make of all this. He wondered maybe Draco was up to something. Once or twice, he saw his bed empty at night. Where was he going? Luke had decided that he would follow him once, but he never caught him at the act of leaving. Apparently, the boy made sure the other boys were fast asleep before he sneaked out.
Luke stopped in front of the stone wall that hid the entrance to the common room. Maybe there was another way to find out where Draco was going in the middle of the night. It would involve breaking a few rules but, hey, it was for the common good.
He smiled slyly before he entered the common room. Chiron did instruct him to keep a close eye on him, didn't he?
The next time Luke awoke in the middle of the night finding Draco's bed empty it was the night before Halloween.
He slipped out of bed without a sound and searched in his trunk for something. When he finally found it, he slowly made his way out of the dormitory, guided by the silver light of the full moon that came from the window.
Luke sat on an armchair near the dying fire of the common room and opened the piece of parchment he was holding. He pointed his wand at it and, with barely contained excitement, he uttered: "I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good."
He watched, fascinated, as criss-crossing inky lines appeared on the yellowish parchment. Letters appeared on it, saying: Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers are proud to present THE MARAUDER'S MAP.
This thing was indeed a treasure. He had once glimpsed the Weasley twins using it and he knew he needed to make it his. So, a couple of weeks ago, he sneaked into their dormitory and stole it. Piece of cake.
Luke's eyes scanned the parchment. Where was Draco?
Despite his dyslexia, he knew he would be able to recognize Draco's dot. After all, draco was also a latin word meaning dragon.
Most rooms and hallways were empty at that time of night, so it wasn't hard to pin-point the boy.
Luke grunted in disappointment.
Seriously? The library?
He shook his head. Why would he sneak out in the middle of the night to visit the library? Was he as much of a nerd as Hermione? Or maybe he was searching for something that he shouldn't be looking for?
Luke sighed. There was no way he could find out, except by asking him directly.
He started gazing at the map, his eyes following absently the other lone dots that wandered the empty corridors – mostly teachers and prefects, doing their rounds. Whoever Moony, Padfoot, Wormtail and Prongs were, they deserved a medal for this amazing creation. It was indeed genius-
Luke suddenly gasped. He blinked several times, as if that would make what he was seeing disappear, or even make sense.
What on Hades-?
There was a lone dot sneaking around the castle hallways. That wasn't the weird part. The weird thing was that there were two names over it. One of them he managed to recognize as Quirell. The other…
Tom Riddle.
He thought that he must be wrong. It must be his dyslexia acting up. But the longer he looked at the two words, the more sure he became that he wasn't mistaken.
He had heard that name before, and he remembered exactly when. It was the Sorting Hat that told him that it had once met a boy named Tom Riddle, who apparently was as ambitious as Luke… And that boy turned out to be none other than…
Lord Voldemort.
Voldemort was in Hogwarts. And he was using Quirell as his host.
Luke groaned loudly. Now that it turned out Draco had been right, he'd never hear the end of it…
The next day, Luke wanted to speak with Draco alone and tell him what he had found out, but he never got the chance. So now they were sitting at the Slytherin table for the Halloween feast. Draco didn't seem to notice the cool decorations at all. He looked really tense as he kept glancing towards the High Table.
Luke took a glimpse as well. He immediately realized what was wrong. Quirell wasn't there. But why was Draco concerned? Was it possible that he knew?
Don't be silly, Luke thought to himself. He always thought Quirell looked suspicious. That must be it.
But where was Quirell? What was he up to?
Just when he made that thought, the Defense professor ran into the Great Hall with an expression of absolute horror on his face. Draco paled next to him as the man approached the High Table.
"Troll — in the dungeons — thought you ought to know," he said before he fainted.
A/N:
Someone asked about Nico being the Ghost King. Well... No one said there had to be only one Ghost King, right? ;)
Anyway, next chapter we'll have a first small confrontation between our heroes and Voldemort. Stay tuned!
