AN: I know this is a shorter chapter but it felt like the right place to end at.
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books, and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Chapter Fifteen
Draco stood in a stunned silence as he watched the nameless girl run to the castle. How had she known his name? There's no way his glamour charms had faded; he cast them himself and he was the best student in his year. Well, second best, he thought as he remembered a certain Gryffindor girl.
He inwardly groaned at the thought of the know-it-all and turned his mind back to the girl who ran. Their conversation struck him as incredibly familiar, but he couldn't figure out who it was with, cause it definitely wasn't that girl.
Taking a few steps back, Draco turned back toward the lake, trying to refocus his mind away from the mysterious girl. Instead, his thoughts wandered to the book she was holding: The Catcher in the Rye. It was one of the few muggle books he was interested in. The nanny who watched him when he was a child brought that book in one day and secretly read it to him, despite facing his father's wrath.
Bending down in the darkness, Draco blindly reached for a stone and tossed it in the vague direction of the lake. He wiped his hands on his pants before turning and making his way back to the castle, stumbling only a few times on the terrain before he reached the cool corridor leading into the castle. His steps echoed through the empty corridor as he numbly walked to the Slytherin common room.
To Draco's surprise, the common room was empty save for Theo who resided in what was quickly becoming his favorite chair. Not bothering to speak, Draco plopped down sideways on the couch opposite him.
Theo practically jumped out of his chair and looked at Draco like he'd grown a second head. "Alright, mate?" Draco looked at Theo in confusion; why was he treating him like a psycho.
"Alright, Theo. You alright?" Draco raised an eyebrow at his friend, who only looked more confused at what he said.
"Look, mate, I don't know who you are but I'm not in the mood tonight, alright?" Draco was about to protest, until he realized he hadn't removed the glamour charms he'd cast earlier.
With a quick wave of his wand, Draco's glamours fell. His charmed brown hair slowly faded to his trademark Malfoy platinum blonde and his eyes rather quickly changed back. When his skin finished lightening, he was back to his classic Draco Malfoy appearance. A look of recognition crossed Theo's face as he watched his friend's appearance change.
"Little thick, are we?" Draco chuckled at his friend, who scowled at Draco in return. Draco's chuckle faded until an amused smirk was all that remained.
"I'm not thick." Theo puffed out his lower lip slightly in a mock pout, not appreciating that Draco called him thick, but also knowing that he didn't recognize him sooner.
"You were here when I cast the charms, mate. You might be a little thick." Draco chuckled again, catching the black throw pillow Theo had thrown at him and dropped it to the ground. "How was detention?" At his question, Theo shrugged his shoulders.
"Not the worst, but you know Filch, he tried to make it as awful as possible." Draco nodded in understanding, remembering vividly his detention in second year when he was sent to the forbidden forest. "Granger had detention, too." Draco's eyes widened; this was Granger's first detention since second year when she had gone into the forbidden forest, as well.
"What was that like? Detention with a mudblood." Theo shrugged his shoulders in response, clearly not bothered by sharing detention with the girl.
"Honestly, she seemed pretty miffed," Theo looked like he was trying to remember his interaction with Hermione, "She didn't say much, not even when Filch had been nasty." Draco raised an eyebrow; it was curious that Granger, a confrontational and proud girl, didn't talk back to the grouchy squib.
Theo shrugged, already putting the Gryffindor girl out of his mind. Draco laid back on the couch, resting his head on his arm and looking at the dark ceiling above. His mind lingered for a moment on the Granger girl, something tugging at his mind. Draco tried to tug on the memory, but it vanished as soon as he focused on it.
Draco let his mind wander from Granger to the girl he'd met at the lake. He couldn't remember her, but she certainly knew him. Her voice sounded familiar, but Draco couldn't figure out where he'd heard her before. He knew he hadn't fooled around with her; she was wearing a baggy sweater but Draco could tell she was fit. He contemplated talking to Theo about her, but he's never been a vulnerable person. Until he'd met that girl at the lake, Draco mentally corrects himself.
Why had he been so open with a total stranger?
The only explanation he could think of is that since he had glamour charms on, no one would know it was him. It sounded logical enough; he'd built up a reputation of being cool and collected, sometimes a downright bully, and never cared what anyone thought. Draco Malfoy didn't have feelings beyond anger and contempt as far as the other students were concerned.
But she knew his name.
That meant a random Gryffindor knew personal details about Draco's life, and feelings he never shared. If word got out it would be the end of him and the power he'd gained. He had to figure out who she was and stop her before she told anyone. There was no way he'd be able to find her tonight, but he resolved to start searching for her first thing in the morning.
"So, how was the dance?" Theo questioned with a knowing tone. Draco looked over at him and Theo was as calm as ever. If he knew something, he wasn't giving it away. Draco laid back and looked at the ceiling, not wanting to again explain the night's events. If Theo heard about what happened he knew better than to believe anything Pansy or her gaggle of girls said.
"Uneventful." Thankfully, Theo didn't pry. Instead, he set down the book he'd been reading on the side table and took a drink from the glass of what must've been pumpkin juice that rested next to where his book now lay. The pair were silent for a few moments before Theo spoke up.
"The polyjuice potion almost didn't last." Draco's head shot up in alarm, worried someone had found out he wasn't actually in detention.
The use of polyjuice potion for anything other than classroom exercises was expressly forbidden at Hogwarts; Draco would be on the first train home if word got out. Theo noticed Draco's panicked expression and immediately explained.
"It wore off almost as soon as I got back to the common room. No one saw me change back." Theo's words did nothing to calm Draco's worry, they'd taken a risk using polyjuice potion and he couldn't go home because of it. He would be disowned if he got expelled.
When it seemed the conversation was over, Theo picked up his book once more. Draco used to tease him that he was almost as much of a bookworm as Granger, although he never seemed bothered to be compared to the Gryffindor. He would say that comparing him to the brightest witch in school was a compliment.
Theo spoke up after what felt like half an hour of silence. "I'm gonna turn in for the night. I'll see you in the morning, mate." Theo retreated to the boys dormitories, leaving Draco alone with his thoughts, and he didn't know if that was a good thing.
Draco rose from the couch and paced the common room, his hands running through his hair. Without anyone to talk to, his mind raced. He stopped in front of the fireplace, his thoughts wandering to the mysterious girl he'd met at the lake. He wanted to figure out who she was, but he had no idea how to start.
He could ask Theo to help, but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to tell Theo what occurred at the lake. He dropped his hand that had come to rest on the fireplace mantle and resumed his pacing.
For over an hour he paced the common room undisturbed and finally sat down when he tired himself out. After sitting for a moment, Draco decided it was time for bed. Getting up from the couch, Draco made his way to the boys dormitory.
Entering his room, Draco was met with snores from his dormmates. Quietly padding to his bed, Draco passed Theo's, who was still awake and reading by candlelight. He looked almost done with his book and hardly acknowledged his friend.
Quickly changing into his pajamas, Draco crawled into bed. His bed was situated between Theo and Crabbe's, with Goyle between them and opposite Draco. Draco didn't think he'd be able to fall asleep with his brain running a mile a minute, but soon his eyelids closed with a familiar heaviness. As Draco was drifting off, he heard Theo close his book and extinguished his candle, shrouding the room in darkness.