Chapter 29: Diagon Alley
"Oh, my…" Mrs. Weasley gasped. Everyone else was speechless. The street, which had once been so full of happy shoppers, was now deserted. A few people in twos and threes jostled about, hurrying on, not looking anywhere but straight ahead. In every window, the leaflet that the ministry had sent me during the summer had been put up.
"Ok, stick together, now. Harry, Hermione, Ron and Jasmine, go with Hagrid to Madam Malkins for robes. The rest of us will go and get the books at Flourish and Blotts."
"Oh, Arthur, no, I don't want to split up, please, let's keep everyone together." Mrs. Weasley whimpered. Her husband gave her a hug.
"Don't worry, Molly; Hagrid's with them." She then gave us all a hug and let us wander away. As we entered, we almost trooped right back out. Malfoy and his mother were in the shop already, trying on robes. Was it just my imagination, or was Draco a bit paler than usual? His face was thinner, his cheek bones more pronounced.
"Oh, mother, if you're wondering what the smell is, a mudblood and a blood traitor have just walked in." Malfoy stated with a smirk. Harry and Ron immediately went for their wands.
"No!" hushed Hermione, putting a hand on Ron's arm. Malfoy snickered.
"Ouch! Watch where you're sticking those needles, woman!" barked Malfoy, pulling his left arm out of reach.
"Draco, I think we should shop elsewhere. No place that serves mudbloods is suitable for us." Said his mother, Narcissa. I stared at her. Her voice was somehow familiar to me and, as she turned to look at us, something about her grey eyes reminded me of last summer. With a jolt, I realised that I knew her as none other than the masked Death Eater who had been nice to me, saying that her only child was faced with a same fate as me…
I stared now at Malfoy. He had thrown off his robes and was dusting himself off, as if the robes he'd been trying on were dirty. I remembered the last time I'd seen him, he had been quivering on the floor at Voldemort's feet. He had been scared. A surge of pity ran through me; his fate was now mine. He had been chosen to replace his father. But what was Voldemort's plan for Draco, what had he asked him to do that was so horrible that he may not make it?… As I wondered all this, he pushed past Harry and Ron and Narcissa, who sneered at the two boys, slipped a note into my hand as she went past me. Silently, and while avoiding detection, I slipped it into my pocket. I would read it later, once alone.
"Right, come along, then" and Madam Malkins started taking mesurements.
"Malfoy was a right prick" grumbled Ron ten minutes later.
"Yeah. If only I could have punched him or hexed him. He sure as hell deserved it." Silence rained as we walked ahead of Hagrid, only broken by Hermione.
"Jasmine, you're awfully silent, what's wrong?" asked Hermione, her eyes full of concern, and the mention of my name pulled me from my reverie. I blushed furiously for some reason and mumbled: "Nothing". Hermione stopped me. Harry and Ron eyed us suspiciously while still talking about the different spells they could have used against the ferret.
"Why are you blushing?" she asked, her eyes twinkling. I looked at her. Truth was, even I didn't know. What had I been thinking about? Oh, yeah, Malfoy's attitude… But why was that making me blush furiously? For some reason, I didn't feel like telling her I was thinking about how Malfoy had acted in the shop.
"Hermione! Harry! Ron! Over here!" shouted Molly and she hushed us forward towards the other shops.
"Tell me later, then," she whispered to me. Ron and Harry were still discussing the different hexes they would have used had there been no adult present, oblivious to my red face.
We arrived at Weasley's Wizarding Wheazes and saw the brightly lit shop. The inside was even more colourful and more spacious than you would have thought. All around were people laughing and chatting, looking around the shelves.
"Ah, and here's the family! Wondered when you'd show up." said one of the twins. I presumed it was Fred - I later found out it was George, but it made no difference anyhow - and he led Harry away, leaving Ron to wander away staring at all the different products, Ginny to stare at a small, round fluff ball and Hermione and me looking around. She then pulled me aside to a shelf where not many people were around.
"Right, spill" she said. I looked at her bewildered. Then remembered.
"I don't know why I blushed."
"Right, and I'm the Queen of England. Come on, tell me!"
"I was just thinking about what had happened in the robe shop. That's all." Hermione's face took on an expression of disbelief.
"Oh." she whispered. "I knew it."
"What? Hermione, you're scarring me, what is it?" I was really worried.
"You like Malfoy." I stared for a while, then burst out laughing.
"Me? Like Malfoy? Please! Pull the other one, it's got bells on!" I had tears in my eyes from laughing so hard. She shook me by the shoulders and whispered dramatically.
"Don't laugh! When we were discussing Malfoy's father and what would happen to the family, you changed the subject. You're in denial!"
"So you're a psychiatrist now, are you? I don't like Malfoy in that way! Hell, I don't like Malfoy in any way! Get over it, Hermione. You're not always right. For proof, just look at your O.W.L. results. I can't quite remember, how many O's did you get?" I smiled as her eyes darkened. We hadn't discussed the fact that I'd beaten her in our exams, it was a tabooed subject with her. I was now the best student in the year. In fact, no student had had all O's in 50 years. Hermione was livid when she found out that I'd received a letter of congratulations from the Ministry as well as Dumbledore.
"That's beside the point." She hissed, her face was dark. I smiled and walked off. Whenever I wanted to escape from Hermione, I now knew I had to mention the exams and she would completely forget everything else.
"Jas! Hermione! Get under here, quick!" hissed Harry, pulling us under the cloak before either of us could utter a sound. We then followed Harry and Ron, who was already under it, out of the shop and down Diagon Alley. As soon as we were outside, it was clear to Hermione and me, or at least to me, who we were following. Draco Malfoy was walking down the street. He was alone and had obviously given his mother the slip. He looked around and then turned right into Knockturn Alley. We followed him all the way to Borgin and Burkes' where Ron took out his extendable ears. As the three of them were hurriedly putting the ears under the door, I slipped out from under the cloak and walked silently back up the street, only to crouch down in a smaller alleyway. It was dark, so I was concealed in the shadows easily. Harry was wondering what Malfoy was doing, but I knew that it must have something to do with Voldemort's plan that he had been assigned. I heard hurried footsteps coming towards me. I peeked around the corner and saw, just as I had anticipated, Malfoy making his way up towards Diagon Alley. Just as he walked past where I sat, I sprang up and dragged him into the alleyway, my hand over his mouth so that he couldn't scream for help.
"Hmfhmhfffmhhmffmfnf!" He tried to yell. I giggled.
"Wow, you have a way with words, Malfoy," I whispered in his ear. I suddenly felt the tip of his wand against my stomach. "Shh, now now. Don't be mean. I just want to talk." I turned him round and slammed him against the wall, my arms on his shoulders, trapping him there. He stared at me, his eyes burning with anger and disbelief. I think it was the latter that stopped him fighting back.
"How dare you!" He spat, but I just looked at him with a sad face.
"I'm so sorry. I know how it feels to be a pawn in Vodlemort's game." I whispered. His face hardened.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Burnett."
"You know. I'm so sorry. But if you ever need someone to talk to about it, come and see me. Send me an owl or something. I know how you feel."
"It is an honnor!" He whispered, fear in his eyes, and, I could have sworn, a flash of pain.
"Repeating your Aunt Bella, are you?" His eyes flashed. "I won't tell anyone, if that's what you're worried about. I swear." I then pulled away from the wall. Our closeness had made me uncomfortable. He straightened up, looked me up and down and started walking away. But then, just before hitting Knockturn alley, he stopped and turned, his face full of pain.
"Does it stop hurting?" He whispered. "That, that thing." waving his left arm in the process. I pulled up my arm and removed the bandage I had placed around my mark. There, on my skin, was the Dark Mark. We stared at it for a few seconds and then looked at each other again. I nodded.
"Yes. It does. Unless He calls." He shivered. He then pulled himself together, the mask was on once more, and he stalked from the alley. I replaced the bandage and followed. I returned to the twins' shop, only to see Molly, Arthur, Ginny, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Hagrid all looking around in alarm.
"What's up?" I asked coming over, panic stricken.
"Oh! Jasmine! We were so worried!" She blubbed and hugged me. I suddenly realised that I was supposed to be in the shop, not outside of it. Later on, Hermione, Ron and Harry all gave me hell for disappearing while under the cloak. The Weasleys all asked where I had been, and all the while I was being questioned, I repeated that I hadn't wanted to be a bother, but I needed fresh air and went from a walk. The trio didn't believe me as they were with me until I slipped from the cloak. I told them that I had wanted to corner Malfoy as he came out of the shop, so I had hid in an alleyway but my plan had failed because his mother had met him only a little before hitting Diagon Alley.
That night, I found the slip of paper Narcissa had given before leaving Madam Malkins. I went to the bathroom and read it.
