Better Be Slytherin
VIII
Slithering Slytherin
Relieved and feeling like he could relax finally, Draco began feeling like his usual self again. The previous week had been a bloody disaster, but thinking back on it – it was not such a big deal as he had felt it had been. A letter from home had helped in calming him down as well. Nothing would send his dad to prison, least of all Harry Potter's groundless accusation in that silly magazine. Draco snorted to himself as he finished his porridge.
That week went on normally at Hogwarts; Draco endured his long-winded Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons, Prefect-duties patrolling the dungeons with Pansy, long evenings after dinner in the Great Hall studying into late at night, and hanging out in the common room with Vincent and Gregory. Hearing about Hagrid being on probation had definitely made him merrier the past few days. Everything was as it always was once more, and Draco was pleased about it.
His Pepperup Potion turned out worse than Goyle's, and that was saying something. Snape could not find anything good to say about his potion which was an utter failure – he just glanced down into Draco's cauldron, and silently looked up with an awkward expression on his face, and walked past. Argh! Draco angrily shoved his bag up on his shoulder, cast a glance behind him and left the classroom and headed for the common room without waiting for Crabbe and Goyle.
He and Pansy still acted as friends – perhaps they were – he was not sure anymore. Neither of them however acted as anything more than that. Pansy was mostly with her girlfriends, and whenever she was with him Crabbe, Goyle and occasionally Nott and Zabini joined them, and they started discussing Quidditch – which teams were moving on in the League and which players who'd flown well this season and every detail of the latest Falcons match – Pansy simply whined and when they didn't stop, she left.
One day a couple of weeks after that horrid article was published, Draco was summoned to meet Umbridge and asked to bring a couple of reliable, Ministry-loyal friends.
Draco came hurrying into the common room through the whole in the wall. It closed behind him and he searched around the common room with his eyes, then he saw Pansy, Blaise, Gregory and Vincent around the fireplace, occupying the armchairs, and he made his way up to them.
He told Crabbe, Goyle and Pansy to hurry up and come, that he would explain on the way. Bulstrode, the troll, overheard what was going on and decided to come too. On their way up to the seventh floor where he had been instructed to meet Umbridge and Filch, they ran into sixth years Montague and Warrington accompanied by a large and sturdy girl, who wondered where they were off too in such haste. Draco quickly explained, his eyes glittering eagerly. They all joined in.
They met a breathless Umbridge who filled them in on the situation with malicious excitement – apparently Umbridge had suspected an illegal student organisation for a while now and she had finally caught them – and they were having a meeting right now in the seventh floor corridor! When Draco heard it was Potter and his friends, he too, became excited and brief images of revenge floated through his mind. They were all ordered out to different positions in the castle for a maximum chance of catching them.
Draco separated himself from his friends and hurried up to the seventh floor. He hid under a recess below an ugly dragon-shaped vase and waited for Potter and the rest, while Umbridge, Filch, Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy, Montague and the rest spread out doing the same. Everyone was at position and waiting for action. The seventh floor corridor was very quiet.
It stayed as silent for a couple of minutes, but then suddenly he heard it: first a distant cry, then running steps. Several of them. His heart started beating faster, he grabbed his wand at the ready. Most of the steps seemed to grow lower; they were going the opposite way, but he was sure – one set of feet were coming his way quickly, and just as they reached him, he reacted immediately, did not waste a second and hastily cast a trip-jinx.
Draco jumped out, spiteful and very content, as a head of black hair landed on the floor and skidded two meters on his front. Draco laughed loudly. It was Potter himself, lying by his feet. This must clearly be Draco's lucky day. Sweet victory, he thought smugly. That's for outing my father, you slimy git...
"Trip Jinx, Potter!" he triumphed. "Hey, Professor – PROFESSOR! I've got one!"*
Umbridge came hurrying around the corner straight away. "It's him!" she said jubilantly at the sight of Potter on the floor. "Excellent, Draco, excellent, oh, very good – fifty points to Slytherin! I'll take him from here…"
Potter looked murderous as he got up, and Umbridge looked as happy as Draco felt.
"You hop along and see if you can round up anymore of them, Draco," she then told him. "Tell the others to look in the library-anybody out of breath-check the bathrooms, Miss Parkinson can do the girls' ones-off you go..."
Draco hurried off to find Pansy with a broad smile on his face.
Unfortunately they had not found any others the previous night, which Draco was malcontent over, but at least they had caught Potter and that was the most important thing.
The next morning parchments with a specific message were posted on boards all around the castle – Umbridge had replaced Dumbledore as headmaster, which made Draco choke. Everyone gossiped about Dumbledore's departure, but no one really knew any details except that he was now marked a fugitive of the law. Draco hurried to Umbridge's office as soon as he'd seen it, to show his support and were his loyalties lie (he was sure there was something in it for him), hoping she had not moved to the headmaster's office yet because then he would have to walk the entire way back to the other side of the castle.
Knocking on the wooden door, he heard footsteps approaching and quickly in his mind went through what his basic objectives with this meeting were.
"Oh, good morning, Mr Malfoy." Dolores Umbridge stood before him, already in her gaudy pink suit and looking brisk as ever. He smiled a heartily smile, acknowledging her. "What can I do for you?"
"You see, professor, I saw the new announcement and I figured I wanted to show my support..."
He was invited into her small, sickly sweet and frumpily decorated office for tea. Umbridge's own cup was already standing reeking on her desk amongst a pile of essays which from the sight of it, looked like she had been about grading when he had arrived.
He realised soon that Umbridge wanted something from him, that she had taken this opportunity severely. He thought she was capable of being quite manipulative, that she slowly pursued what she wanted by using others. Sly woman, thought Draco and did nothing but smirk smoothly at her as she poured them each a cup of steaming tea from a small porcelain pot. She could be useful.
"How do you find school this year, Draco? How are you finding your assignments?" she asked him, sipping her tea, impassive. It was obviously a poser; it was not to be taken as lightly as most would have. Luckily, Draco had the brains that were needed for this kind of small talk that was not really small talk at all.
"Oh, such an improvement, professor," he waved off, seemingly uninterested. Impressions were crucial – his life would be so much easier if she did not see him as a suck-up, so he would suck up discreetly. "Lectures are no bother. I've reckoned for a long time that someone should uproot the quality of the education at this school..."
"My thoughts exactly. Naturally, there are yet a few matters we have not managed to improve."
"Of course," agreed Draco.
"But they'll come around. They all will." For a brief moment, she looked almost deranged, staring out into the air with a hint of malice on her toad-like features.
Draco smiled sugary and Umbridge quickly stirred her cup and took another sip. "How are you parents? I remember Lucius popping in and out at the Ministry quite a bit, nice man, indeed..."
"Oh, they're well, thank you. Yes, he's done some work at the Ministry."
"Lovely. In times like these, it's important to show ones loyalty towards the Ministry... as well as its representatives."
"I definitely agree, professor."
And she reached what she, by the look of it, had planned to talk to him about the entire time. She had probably thought if very fit that Draco had popped into her office precisely this morning.
"I believe that you agree with me that this school needs some discipline and some orderliness," said Umbridge, putting down her small porcelain teacup on the table. She looked at him mildly.
"Exactly," said Draco eagerly, earning a small complacent smile from Umbridge.
"I knew you were a reliable young man, Draco. You have been of great help to Mr. Filch and myself of recent."
Draco smirked, and Umbridge continued: "I have, ever since I started working here in September, tried to do what I can for this school, with the committed help of Mr Filch and you Prefects, yet there is something missing. So I... forgive me – Cornelius and I came upon the idea of a special little group of students with higher status than the Prefects. This little group, or squad, would of course consist of a bit more serious and responsible students, much like yourself perhaps."
Umbridge sipped her tea for effect, innocent expression on her face. Draco nodded, encouraging.
"The members of this squad would of course also be able to take points from other Prefects, as they would have higher status." She looked content as she said this, knowing full well that Draco would accept anything with this offer.
She paused, letting Draco think. He could not say he was not allured. He knew he was being manipulated, but he liked everything he had heard so far, so why not? He would be able to dock points from King Weasley, for instance, increasing the latter's humiliation.
"What do you say, Mr Malfoy? Does being a Prefect start feeling a bit boring? Do you want something greater than that?"
She was basically offering him power. He realised he would have a great deal of work convincing the other Slytherins to join as well, since they had been quite anti-Umbridge, but he could manage...
He left Umbridge's office ten minutes later, a shiny new badge on his robe below his Prefect badge with a big "I". Apparently Umbridge had had quite a bit more than an idea of this Inquisitorial Squad, as she called it, since she had opened her desk drawer and plucked out a bunch of finished badges identical the one Draco was now sporting on his chest.
Draco praised his own cleverness and luck.
