Chapter 7

"I told you, leave me alone. Both of you, get lost. I need to work on my homework." Draco dismissed Crabbe and Goyle for the fourth time that day. The Vanishing Cabinet had recently proven to be a most stressful thing. He had finished repairing it, but he wasn't sure what to do next. He should be testing it out, but he was stalling, focusing on schoolwork and his lessons in Occlumency. He was afraid to admit that he was beginning to suffer under the growing pressure of his being a Death Eater. He had nearly mastered the mysterious art of protecting one's mind, and he was growing weary of his dreadful aunt. One fateful lesson proved he was starting to be pushed over the edge.

"Legilimens!" Bellatrix whispered, and Draco's mind was very quickly protected from even her best efforts. She nodded, "Good job, Draco. The Dark Lord will be most pleased. Now, if you could only finish that blasted Vanishing Cabinet, you'd be golden. Not that you're capable of it, but we can always hope that you don't make Snape finish everything for you so quickly." She ended her barrage of his mind and laughed derisively.

Draco stood, and glared at her, "Shut your mouth, Bellatrix! I'm working hard and doing just fine with the plans the Dark Lord has entrusted me with. You have nothing to bother me about, nothing that you can taunt me with."

"Nothing, have I? Well, you do happen to be son of one of the Dark Lord's worst followers, with the most failures. Sometimes I can't believe I'm related to your stupid mother! Ha! You had better be thankful that I'm doing this for you, boy. You're not worth my efforts." She scoffed, and the moment she turned her back, Draco took the opportunity.

"Cruci—!" he yelled, nearly catching her in a Cruciatus curse.

Before he could finish, Bellatrix countercursed him with a flick of her wand. She sent him flying backwards onto the ground, and laughed as he cried out from the pain of the impact. She went over to him, and looked down at him, "Not so fast, you little snake! You have to get more experience in the Dark Arts before you can perform that big of a spell on poor, unsuspecting souls. You're still just a baby, in Death Eater's clothing." She raised her hands, "Now I won't go so easy on you, boy!" And recommenced her onslaught, with much less mercy.

When he returned to the castle, it was very late, and he went to bed angry and in pain. He could barely sleep with all the bruises and lesions starting to form. The anger subsided, but the pain carried into the next day, in the form of a slight limp.

After Potions that day, in which a new seating arrangement put Charlotte LaRocque much closer to Draco, Charlotte went up to him, concerned, "Draco? Are you feeling all right? You're limping."

"Yes, I'm fine! Why do you care, anyway?" he snapped at her.

She looked at the ground, abashed, "I just asked you a question, it's nothing to get mad about. Is something troubling you?"

"You know what? I don't have t—" he glanced at her with the intention to scold her for her attempts at sympathy, but her concerned expression calmed the angry energy a bit, and he conceded, "I've just been pushed a bit too far in my tutoring sessions of late. I'm not doing as well as she wants me to."

"Ah, I see. Painful lesson last night?"

"I suppose. I threatened her, and she punished me."

"By knocking you down?" she asked, a bit worried.

"No, Charlotte, because I fell down randomly and got a bunch of bruises out of nowhere." Draco rolled his eyes, sarcastic.

"Of course, because you're such a klutz." Charlotte joked, "Tripping over girls' book bags, falling at odd moments for no reason at all, as if gravity made you its personal enemy. There's no knowing what force of nature may be targeting you next!"

"Shut up, I'm not that clumsy!" he retorted, but not as harshly as he would with Crabbe and Goyle. "I need to, um, go work on my research project."

"Ah, yes, the Vanishing Cabinet. You must be nearly done with it now, it's been almost a week since we got that tricky charm down to an art, hasn't it?" she asked.

"Yes, I suppose so. I guess now I'll go have to try it out, see if that blasted thing really wo…" he took a breath, stopping himself from revealing a step in his secret plan, and recovered, "That is, if the blasted paper is worth reading. An important step before revising, you know!"

"Indeed." She nodded, suspecting nervousness in his voice.

"What time is it, may I ask?" Draco asked, casually.

"Quarter to noon. Why do you ask?" she inquired, rustling through her bag, looking for something. She pulled out a small, rusty key. "I'm off to do my Potions and other homework in my study, care to join me? I could use the company, as well as another brilliant mind to bounce ideas off of."

"Well, um, not this time, I don't think. Once again, I have a previous engagement. I'm sorry, Charlotte." He scratched the back of his head, awkwardly.

"Are you sure? Another time, then. Well, Draco, I bid you good day!" and she added quickly before he was out of earshot, "If you ever get lonely doing your project or want some extra input, I'm always around!"

He waved at her, acknowledging her comment, but not really listening. He glanced at the clock in the hall, and took a deep breath. He walked resolutely to the Room of Requirement. He wandered about the room, finally arriving at his destination. He pulled the large sheet off of the massive thing, revealing the large Vanishing Cabinet. He took a deep breath, deciding now to do the inevitable. He had sent an owl to Borgin and Burke's shop owner, telling him of his next step, and the shop owner's part in this crucial step.

He heard the clock strike one, shut his eyes, and took a deep breath. He took an apple out of his pocket, one he had stolen from breakfast earlier that day. He unlocked the Vanishing Cabinet with a flick of his wand, opened the creaky door, and set the apple inside. Once he shut and locked the door, he closed his eyes, concentrating deeply on the incantation.

"Harmonia Nectere Passus," he began, "Harmonia Nectere Passus." A click inside the cabinet indicated that something had happened. He opened his eyes, unlocked the door, and looked inside. The apple was gone! He breathed a sigh of relief. At least half of it worked. He waited for a minute, then locked the door again as he whispered, "Harmonia Nectere Passus. Harmonia Nectere Passus," and once more for good measure, "Harmonia Nectere Passus." Another click, and he opened the cabinet once more, to find the apple had returned, but with a considerable bite out of it. He smiled. What great progress he had made, with plenty of time to practice for its crucial part in the Dark Lord's plan.

As he threw the apple away, his thoughts drifted to the other part of his task: to find a way to kill the Hogwarts Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore, the only wizard in the world the Dark Lord feared. He had no idea how to do it, in fact, he was afraid of Dumbledore himself, in a way. He always had a way of knowing certain things, and his trusting nature could soften nearly any harsh situation. Why was he so powerful? He deserved to die, or so his teachings in the Dark Arts by fellow Death Eaters told him. He rolled up his sleeve, glancing at the Dark Mark, reminding himself of his dark purpose.

He meandered around the dusty storeroom that had the Room of Requirement had become, wasting time, avoiding his real work, specifically his homework in three classes (that he could remember, anyway). He explored the huge area, and then his eye caught something that glinted in the light of the window.

It was an old black necklace, with some inlaid jewels and an old, Victorian look to it. It struck his fancy, and he admired it for a bit. It reminded him of his family's collection of old royal, Victorian jewelry, and an idea struck him. What normal person wouldn't love receiving such beautiful antique jewelry? His eyes lit up as a plan hatched in his head: He had been practicing many deadly hexes and lethal curses, he could easily put something dangerous on the necklace, so that would kill the headmaster. Simply a gift from an anonymous donor to the school, that was all, he could easily disguise it. And this way he didn't have to do the killing himself, an indirect method with the same result! He just needed to find a way to sneak it back into the school after it was cursed.

He hid the necklace in his book bag, and reluctantly went back to his classes, as it was getting dangerously close to his next course. Later he went to the Slytherin dormitory to start on his homework. He attempted to do his History of Magic and Transfiguration readings, and nearly fell asleep. He nearly finished, and as he was beginning his Potions, he became confused. All the students were called to dinner in the Great Hall, and he left briskly, pushing thoughts of homework from his mind. He instead focused on the curse he planned to put on the necklace, and how exactly to sneak it into Dumbledore's office.

After dinner, he went back to his Potions, and other subjects, but hit a dead end. He finally succumbed to the nagging suggestions his conscience was sending him, grabbed his homework and stuffed it into his already full book bag, and went to the near-abandoned study where Charlotte LaRocque was sure to be studying.

He paused, unsure of what had driven him to seek her out, again. She would be of help with Potions and such, and he had no doubt she understood Slughorn's ramblings better that he did. He shook his head, wondering why he was here, but feeling too stubborn to turn back now, lightly knocked on the door of the study, and Charlotte opened the door on the second knock.

"Draco!" she exclaimed, "You startled me!" He took in her slightly frazzled appearance: messy ponytail, a pencil tucked behind her ear. She straightened her sweater and smoothed out her hair a bit, "Come on in, and make yourself comfortable. What brings you here? I thought you had something going on…?"

"Long finished, silly girl! Now, I'm here because I want a second opinion on some of these Potions homework questions. You ought to know that, now let's get down to business, I haven't got all night." Draco demanded, and Charlotte smiled.

"As you wish," she curtsied, jokingly. His flustered expression caused her to laugh as she walked away, pulling her sleeves down at the cold from the hallways.

Inside the room a fire crackled warmly in the fireplace, and he shut the door of the room behind him. He sat on a reasonably large couch, spreading out his things just so. Charlotte's amused chuckle at his actions made Draco want to make a snide comment, but he decided against it, as she was helping him.

"Now, what is it you wanted a second opinion on, Mr. Malfoy?" Charlotte had her stuff out, as well, if not a bit messier.

Draco looked at her, "Well, I didn't quite understand what he was asking in question one."

"Let me see," she began to flip through the Potions book and rested her finger, "It seems to describe right here how to use a bezoar, it isn't too complex, once you read it a time or two. Wouldn't you agree?" She looked at him, imploring.

Draco became apprehensive, as he hadn't done the reading since day one, practically, and finally managed to speak rather quickly, "Of course, of course, now, what page is it again? And remind me what a bezoar is?"

"Page number 122," she watched him fumble with the book, attempting to look aloof, and in turn failing to hide his confusion. She sighed, "You didn't do the reading, did you?"

"I did too!" At her implicating frown, he confessed, "I went through it, only I wasn't focusing at all on the subject, skimmed it, really."

"Okay, I'll sum it up for you, then we can answer the questions and such together, all right?" She sighed, finding his apparent lack of motivation rather annoying, but she commended him for trying, and for coming to her for help. He had answered the questions, however incorrectly. She knew that if he tried harder, he could master the class, she had seen how good he was in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Why couldn't he apply that amount of intelligence and motivation to Potions?

Draco agreed to her plan, and they actually got a good amount of work done. Potions didn't turn out to be quite a bother, and they moved on to other subjects.

"What did you write about the cause of that old Wizarding conflict in 16th century Great Britain? I wrote some rubbish about the political tensions and such, could you take a look at it?" Draco inquired, and Charlotte moved to sit next to him, reading his response quickly and thoroughly.

"It looks good! I said something about the impoverished magical folk's protests and uprisings, but yours brings up another valid point I would have forgotten. Well done, Draco!" She smiled, and he smiled in return.

The clock struck ten o'clock, nearing the curfew for students.

"Well, we should probably be off to bed soon, we've been working awhile." Charlotte stood and stretched, "In fact, I've never been in here past eleven, I'm quite afraid that the place may actually be haunted, especially after-hours!" She laughed, and Draco laughed with her. He wasn't sure why he did so, it was not a very funny comment, once he thought about it.

"You know," he said, as he gathered up his things, "I'm rather glad I came. A lot of good insights shared here tonight, and I think I understand Potions a little better. I was more productive tonight than I have been all month, I daresay!"

"Really? I have a hard time believing that!" she winked, and he shoved her good-humoredly. "Want to make this a regular thing? I think I even got more done here tonight. It does get a little lonely in here, and I can't focus very well when I get that way," she conceded, playing with a stray hair, a bit of a nervous habit.

Draco was hesitant, but he knew his mother would be on his case if he got any father behind in school. As much as he hated to admit it, he had actually enjoyed himself here in Charlotte's study, and it felt good to take his mind off the building pressure on him and his new role, and be productive for a night. "I don't know, but…" her innocent expression, awaiting his reply made him sigh, feigning defeat, "I suppose I could make time for it, and I could use the help. But you already know that."

"I sure do! All those wrongly spelled incantations, it's no wonder you can't do the charms and such as well in class!" She put her hands on her hips shaking her head.

"Oh, hush! You're one to talk, especially with your not-so-successful conjuring in Defense Against the Dark Arts. What was it about a certain vampire bat you 'accidentally' set on the scent of one Miss Clearwater? Your roommate, no less?" he hinted at one of her more recent failures.

"All right, fine, fine, so we both have our weak points. We can help one another. Now, are you sure you want to spend so much time with such a lowly girl as me? Doing schoolwork, no less?" she used his phrase, keeping his attention.

"Yes, it will be most beneficial to me, and I can perhaps even show you a thing or two in your 'problem areas'. Until tomorrow, then?" Draco offered his hand, and Charlotte took it, smiling slightly.

"Yes, until tomorrow." As they shook hands, Charlotte noticed something strange on Draco's left arm, under his sleeve. A shadow? She wondered to herself, and, hiding her curiosity, let go of his hand and watched him pull his left sleeve down to the wrist for maybe the tenth time that night. She waved good-bye, and began contemplating, Did Draco Malfoy have something to hide? She tried to push the thought aside, but it refused to go away, the curiosity constantly nagging at the back of her mind.