Chapter 11
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This was the most boring, awkward thing she'd ever done. Now, Malinda had been a shy child, accustomed to being teased by others for her foster status. She learned quickly how to blend into corners, remain unnoticed and be ignored. That all changed though she graduated, left her final foster family behind and began at Oxford.
There, she thrived.
Yet here she was again, standing in a corner, doing her best to avoid people. No one noticed her, just like the old days, but this time she had the help of magic. No one noticed her because she stood invisible, safely hidden by Harry's cloak. And it was terribly boring.
She had snuck into the Three Broomsticks with the first group of Hogwarts students, who excitedly entered the pub to escape the bitter cold outside. It wasn't long until the place was crowded with students, the few locals seeming not to mind the loud teenagers. Madam Rosmerta was obviously pleased with the rush of customers. She greeted everyone cheerfully, quickly moving from wizard to wizard, oblivious to the witch in the corner who watched her every move.
Malinda didn't know exactly how Draco made Rosmerta give Katie the opal necklace. The books didn't exactly detail the evil deed and the movie only hinted at Draco's involvement, so she remained in place, waiting. She hadn't seen the blond Slytherin yet, but it was surely a matter of time.
"Afternoon, darlings," Rosmerta walked over to a table of Hufflepuffs. She charmed them, gathering their order of drinks before returning to the bar. She turned to another witch helping serve customers and relayed the order.
The door to the Three Broomsticks opened for the millionth time. Malinda glanced over and nearly looked away, but caught herself. Katie Bell entered, laughing with a couple of friends. The group of girls made their way across the pub, settling into an empty booth. Katie's arrival made Malinda uneasy, her body tense with apprehension. Her hazel eyes scanned the pub, double-checking every face but there was still no sign of Draco. She looked to the bar and found Rosmerta chatting away with Professor Slughorn, who already seemed a bit tipsy.
The door opened again and this time, she watched the Golden Trio enter together. Harry's eyes immediately went to Slughorn, appraising the professor before he ushered Hermoine and Ron to a table close to the bar.
Right, if they were here, it couldn't be too long-
"So kind of you to say Horace," Rosmerta chuckled, "Always such a gentleman. Oh, excuse me, I need to run to the back to get more butterbeer. Alice, mind the bar."
Shit, Malinda thought. Was this it? Wait, where was Draco?
Malinda carefully moved toward the bar, trying to step lightly, and barely dodging Slughorn as he excitedly walked towards Harry. She stayed a few feet behind Rosmerta, the witch leading them out of the main room and down a corridor. They passed the loos before coming to a stop before a door by the back staircase. Just as Rosmerta unlocked the door with a key, there he was.
Draco Malfoy walked down the staircase. The witch glanced up, smiled and said, "Sorry love, loo is back there-"
"Imperio," Draco said, pointing his wand directly at her face. He looked warily down the hall, his blue eyes staring right through Malinda, completely unaware of how she glared. Her hands trembled with anger. Fury and disappointment burned through her and her jaw locked.
Draco used his wand to motion Rosemerta forward, "Step inside and don't make a sound."
The witch, completely under his control, did as she was told. Her face crumpled in terror and though water pooled in her eyes, she remained silent. Draco moved behind her, his spare hand reaching behind him to close the door but instead, his hand brushed against Malinda's shoulder.
He spun around in alarm but it was too late. Malinda's own wand was out and she spat, "Petrificus Totalus."
Draco's body froze instantaneously and he fell backward, hitting the floor with a solid thud. His spell remained on Rosmerta who jumped back in alarm and opened her mouth to scream, but could make no sound. Malinda moved her wand towards the witch and said, "Sorry. Stupefy."
She quickly darted forward, catching the limp witch before laying her down gently. Standing upright, Malinda took a long and deep breath. Then she exhaled slowly. She waved a hand at the door and it slammed shut. Her boots quietly stepped across the small room until she stood over Draco, towering over him.
"You fucking corward. Even after I tell you the truth, you still make this mistake. You still use an Unforgivable Curse? You still try to kill someone?" She hissed before stepping over to the door. She murmured a few charms, creating a sound barrier. Satisfied they wouldn't be heard, she spun in place and lifted her hand. Draco's stiff body rose, held up by her magic, and he was at her mercy.
He couldn't move, his face frozen in surprise and confusion. But she could feel his horror, see it in his piercing eyes. She had little mercy as she slammed him into the wall so hard, the shelves trembled. "What." She took a step forward. "The." Another step. "Hell." Another step. "Are." Another step. "You." One last step placed her inches from him. "Doing?"
"Are you trying to join your father in Azkaban? Do you want your soul sucked away by Dementers? Do you really want to be the villain in this tale?" She screamed at him, the air growing hot with her rage as magic leaked from her. "YOU FOOL! And to think, I've been wasting my time trying to help you! To save you!"
His eyes widened ever so slightly.
She took another deep breath in, trying to calm herself. Scaring him into a corner wasn't going to help right now. He was already scared enough. With another exhale, she released her spell on him and Draco fell to his knees.
"Y-You," he gaped at her, then cringed, rolling his sore shoulders. "You knew."
"Of course I knew," she snapped. "I told you, I'm a seer."
Draco shook his head in disbelief. "Prove it. What was I-"
"You were going to force Madam Rosmerta to give that horrid necklace to Katie Bell, to trick her into giving it to Dumbledore," Malinda accused. "It's the opal necklace you got from Borgin and Burkes. And yes, I already know about your next idea to kill Dumbledore if this doesn't work. Spoiler, it doesn't work."
He could only stare at her, the blood draining from his face completely.
"Scared? Good. You should be. You have no idea what this war will do. You are not only ruining your own life, Draco," she warned, "But you're hurting others. You nearly kill Katie! And poor Rosmerta, she doesn't deserve this."
Draco got to his feet and Malinda watched him with her wand at the ready. However, the Slytherin didn't attack her. Instead, he sat himself down on a crate and hung his head, hiding his face. "I… I fail, don't I?"
"In killing Dumbledore? Yes," she told him honestly. "You have the perfect opportunity, he tries to talk you out of it, but you still can't do it."
"I'm dead then," Draco whispered. "He's going to kill me then my mother."
"Actually, Snape kills him for you. He does it to spare you the horror of being a murderer. Well that and he bound himself in that stupid vow."
Draco's head snapped up, "You know of the vow? How?"
She scoffed, "I saw it. Really, do I need to explain what a seer is to you?"
He said nothing for a long moment. Draco cursed under his breath and then said, "I wasn't going to do it, you know."
"Fuck off, Draco. I caught you red-handed. Look, you even have the necklace boxed up there." Malinda kicked at the old jewelry box that had fallen out of his cloak pocket. "Don't insult yourself by trying to lie to someone that knows the future. So just shut up and-"
"Open it."
She laughed coldly. "No thanks. I've seen what it does and…"
Malinda fell silent when Draco reached out, grabbed the box and pulled the lid away. Inside was nothing. The box was empty.
Her forehead furrowed. "What? But you-"
"You said you knew the future," Draco swallowed hard. "I had this planned for a while now and wanted to see… I had to know if you would stop me."
Like a fish, she opened then shut her mouth dumbly. It had been a test, to see if she was telling the truth. A test that she had just passed.
Draco sat back down angrily, "Alright, so you're a fucking seer. What happens now? What do we do about her?"
Malinda's brain scrambled for answers. This was not what she was expecting, it hadn't even crossed her mind that Draco would set a trap for her like this. "Well," she ran a hand through her hair. "First, we're going to wipe her memory and get out of here. Someone will come looking for her soon. Second, you and I are going to take a walk."
"A walk," he repeated snidely.
"Yes and we're going to talk."
…
…
Draco walked calmly forward, but anyone could see he was on edge, his fair complexion still too pale. He walked with his usual stiff, proud posture but his steps were quick. He was eager to leave the pub behind.
He paused though and Malinda, hidden beneath Harry's cloak again, peeked around his torso. Harry Potter stared at Draco, hostility and suspicion clear. "Ignore him," she whispered.
In a rare show of his usual bravado, Draco winked at Harry, making the Gryffindor sit up in alarm. Knowing how easily Harry could be agitated, Malinda pressed her hand against Draco's back. "Let's go."
Thankfully, he listened. She followed closely behind him, doing her best to step in his footsteps. She didn't want to risk people noticing unexplained footsteps in the snow. It was only until they came to the edge of the Shrieking Shack, well away from the village crowds, did she lift the cloak away, carefully folding it into her bag. Draco watched her, then asked, "Family heirloom?"
"Yes, but not my family," she chuckled.
Not understanding the joke, he glanced around dubiously. "You want to talk here?"
"No, in there," she pointed to the shack.
"You clearly haven't heard about the Shrieking Shack."
"Oh, I know lots about it. For example, it's not actually haunted. It was a ruse Dumbledore created to give Professor Lupin a safe place for him to transform when he was a student. The rumors of haunting kept people away. This is actually Voldy's favorite little rat was caught." When he gave her a blank expression, Malinda frowned. "Ron Weasley's rat was actually Peter Pettigrew. He hid for years as the family pet, but Harry and Lupin exposed him third year. Didn't you know how he came back after all these years?"
Draco exhaled deeply. "I have a feeling there's more to you than just being a seer."
"A little," she grinned. "Come on, don't worry, Lupin isn't around to bite us."
"You say that as if you know where the halfbreed is."
"Name calling, nice. Because we're ten-years-old again."
He glowered at her.
"Lupin is a hero in this story and you the villain. If you're going to survive and come out on the good side of this war, you'll want to stop insulting the good guys," she snapped.
She led Draco off the path and into the shack, taking care to avoid any loose planks in the floor. There was snow scattered inside, having fallen through missing chunks of roof, but the thin walls were enough to block the chilly wind. Malinda pulled her winter hat off, shaking off the loose flakes. She plopped down, settling into a shredded and old armchair. Draco chose to remain standing and he impatiently pressed, "Well?"
"Well, what?" she challenged.
"You know fucking well what I want to know," he snapped. "How the fuck do you know the future? What happens? Does my father get released? Does my mother survive? You better make sure she survives or-"
"Or what? You'll try to kill me with a cursed necklace? Or maybe a poisoned bottle of mead?"
His eyebrows shot up.
"Yeah," she rolled her eyes. "I know about that plan too."
Draco muttered, "Fuck." Uneasy, he paced about the room, running a hand through his smooth hair over and over again until it was a mess. She watched him, waiting for him to calm down. It took a few minutes, but finally, Draco used both hands to smooth his hair back into place and leaned against the wall, watching her with a guarded expression. "Does… Does my mother turn because her life is threatened?"
"Because your life is threatened," Malinda answered. "All she cares about is keeping you safe. She never wanted you to be a Death Eater. She's terrified and at the end, she makes sure you're alive and literally walks you away from the battle."
"What about my father?"
"Voldemort will break him and the others out soon. That's when it gets bad."
"Maybe for the Mudbl-"
"Don't," Malinda hissed. Her fury so instant and potent, the shack warmed with dangerous magic. "You are better than this. You may not realize it, but I've seen you become a better man. Your son will be friends with purebloods, half bloods and muggleborns alike. And you will be proud."
"My s-son?"
She ignored him and said, "In the original story, it takes you years to change. During those years, your family suffers under Voldemort then as enemies of society after the war. Your mother may have walked you away, but your family will still answer for their role. So you can either continue down this long and painful path, or you can take advantage of me."
"You."
"Yes, me, the seer."
"You make yourself sound like Merlin wrapped you up with a little pretty bow for me," he sneered.
Malinda blinked and threw her head back, howling with laughter. It took for a few moments to collect herself, then she said, "He did, he really did. Now, let's talk about your future. This is it, this is where you make a choice, Draco. You can either choose to be his Death Eater or leave that life behind. It's going to be hard, I'll challenge everything you were ever taught, but your mother will be safe."
"That's not much of a choice, is it?"
"You always have a choice with me," she told him.
Draco closed his eyes and thought. After a while, he opened his eyes and asked, "What happens if I say no? If I don't accept your help."
"Then I won't play nice anymore. I've let you work on the vanishing cabinet, I've let you make your plots and plan. But if you choose the darkness, then I will be your worst enemy. I will be there to stop your next idea, to tell the Order your next move, to help them defeat Voldemort as quickly as possible."
"Will you kill me?"
The question made her gasp slightly. "No, not unless you forced me to. You're not a killer Draco, but if you try to kill me or my friends, then I'll do what I have to."
She stood up and took a step toward Draco. He held his ground, but watched her warily. "Let me make myself clear, Draco. I crossed more than just an ocean for you. I'm here at Hogwarts for you. I could've come and helped the Order full time, but I've always been worried about you. People forget that you were raised in this dark world, that your mother is threatened… They think you are too far gone, too evil, but I know better. I know that you're scared and that you want out. So let me help you."
"I… I don't want out," he told her.
She took another step closer, then another. She moved until she was just a foot away and reached down. Draco didn't stop her as she pulled his jacket sleeve up, revealing the dark mark beneath. "Yes, you do and I want you out too."
"Why?" Draco whispered. "Why do you care so much?"
Malinda smiled. "Because all my life people forgot about me, didn't help me when I needed it most. I won't let that happen to you."
Draco's face crumpled, the proud heir exterior finally cracked. He tugged his arm away, letting the sleeve fall again. "Please… Please just don't let them hurt my mother."
"I won't," she said. "If we properly plan, we can keep her away and safe."
"You guarantee her safety?"
"I can't do that, you know I can't," she answered honestly. "But I can guarantee that Dumbledore and the Order will do everything they can to protect her. Dumbledore and I already have an idea."
Draco startled. "D-Dumbledore? He knows about you?"
"Of course," she grinned. "And he knows all about your attempts to assassinate him. To be fair though, he would've known that without me too. That's why he tries to talk you out of it at the end, because he knows you don't want to do it."
"Shit," Draco hissed. "Why hasn't he expelled me yet?"
Malinda tilted her head. "Has it ever occurred to you that he's also trying to help you? By keeping you at Hogwarts, he's keeping you away from Voldemort and the others. You're safer here at Hogwarts. Why would he send you back into danger?"
"We lose," Draco said more to himself. "If the old fool already knows about me and you… Merlin, if he has you on his side, of course we lose this war. You know what's coming."
"Question is, which side will you be on?"
Slytherins are placed in their house for more than just pureblood arrogance. They are witty, smart, strategic people. Malinda could only watch as Draco silently thought over her question. She could practically hear his mind whirling, considering what would be best for him and his goals. She waited, a soft smile on her lips, as the Slytherin prince made his decision.
"I'm going to regret this," he said shakily. "But I accept. Tell Dumbledore I'll defect then but my one condition is we get my mother out."
"Done," she extended her hand.
Draco lifted his chin a bit and shook her hand.