Draco Malfoy, Seeker Of Souls

Chapter Ten

The Beginning

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I dragged myself down to the dungeons that afternoon, Ginny by the hand. It was easy to get away, considering I had no friends and all. I figured everyone was mad at me because of my attack on Harry and the Snitch. And I still couldn't figure out why I had done it. It seemed so stupid now. I decided I would ask Tom. He knew a lot about everything.

Ginny was carrying Nathaniel. She had hardly put him down since she had been revived. No one tried to take him away. He seemed to be the link to the small bit of herself that remained. Snape saw this as being positive.

I was walking glumly, still in my Quidditch outfit. I hadn't bothered to change. The Snitch was now in my pocket and every once in awhile Ginny would reach out and try to stick her hand inside. She seemed to be fascinated with the little golden ball. I would pat her hand through my pocket fabric and smile. It always came down to Ginny and me. No one else mattered in the slightest. Not perfect Potter or the rest of my false friends.

"Daddy!" Nathaniel chirped. "Pretty!" Ginny had managed to pull the Snitch out of my pocket and it fluttered gently in her hand. Nathaniel was poking at it and giggling when it tickled his fingers with its wings.

I grinned and ruffled his hair. "You two stay here while I talk to Tom Riddle." I pulled off my Quidditch cloak and spread it out on the cold floor. I took Ginny's hand and pulled her down to sit. "Now don't move. I'll be right back." Ginny and Nathaniel marveled over the glowing Snitch while I headed over to the nearby dungeon bars. "Tom?"

Tom was hunched over by the fire. "Who's there?" he asked sharply.

I stuck a hand through the bars. "It's Draco."

A smile slowly lit up his face. "Ah." He walked over and looked out at me. "What brings you here?" His eyes lit on Ginny and Nathaniel in the hallway and his eyes narrowed hungrily. "Have you brought them to me, then?"

I raised an eyebrow. "I'm just taking them for a walk."

Nathaniel got up and tottled over to us. He reached a hand up through the bars like I had. "Hi!" he said.

Tom leaned forward and grasped his little hand. "Hello, young one." He lifted Nathaniel's face a bit. "Mmm…just like Harry Potter. You're a beautiful boy."

I made a face. Tom Riddle could be such a nutter! "Er…yes. He does look like Harry, doesn't he." I kicked at a loose stone. "Prat that he is."

Tom looked mildly interested. "Did you have a fight?"

I shrugged. "He's mad at me. Thinks I'm violent or whatnot."

Tom laughed thinly. "You boys can be so unreasonable. You're hardly violent. You're just ambitious."

The Snitch darted away from Ginny and headed towards the dungeon. It stopped right in front of Tom. "Quidditch?" Tom asked with vague interest and reached for the Snitch. As soon as he closed his fist around it, he cried out and pulled his hand back in a hurry. A thin trickle of blood dripped from his fingers. He drew his arm back into the cell quickly and looked at the Snitch darkly. "It cut me."

"Oh…sorry then," I said. The Snitch dove into my pocket again. Ginny looked lost without it and had taken to braiding a lock of her hair. "Odd behavior. For a Snitch and all. It usually doesn't bite." I gave him a lopsided smile.

He cleared his throat. "No matter. Are you going to spring me out of here? We really should go and try to channel Salazar Slytherin again, don't you think?"

I felt excited. "Oh yes!" I looked at Ginny. She was staring at Tom. "I can't wait until she's back to her old self. I miss her."

"Yes…yes…" said Tom. He was watching her too. "Do it as soon as possible, Draco. She's not going to get any better."

I agreed. "I'll try to come and get you tonight. I want to get on with it."

"Will you be alone?"

"Yes. I'm not going to ask Harry or the others to come. I can do this all by myself."

Tom smiled. "As you wish." He flipped his cloak and headed back to the fire.

I shrugged, feeling happy for the first time all day. I gathered Nathaniel up in my arms and coaxed Ginny up off my cloak. Who needed Harry anyway? Some of us could be perfectly happy without him, thank you very much!

*****

I hid out for the rest of the day in the Astronomy Tower with Ginny and Nathaniel, telling them stories. I only sneaked down again once to deliver Ginny to her parents who showed up that night to spend some time with her and Nathaniel. When I brought them to the room down the hall from Snape's, her parents smiled at me and hugged me as if nothing had happened. Apparently, they hadn't seen Harry that day. I bade a hasty retreat before Snape could find me. I didn't care if Snape was worried about me. I didn't care about anything.

I spent the rest of the evening bouncing from turret to turret on the top of the tower, playing a game with the Snitch. It flew a few feet ahead of me and I gleefully hopped after it. Being alone wasn't so bad. And I really liked this Astronomy Tower. And I'd have Ginny back before long. Life was fine. Sort of.

Late at night, I headed down to the dungeons and got Tom out of his room. We had to be very silent as we crept through Hogwarts since I didn't have Harry's invisibility cloak anymore. We were lucky we weren't caught. I figured every kid and teacher in the school would beat me up if they discovered me, and, let's face it…I'm tiny.

Once down in the Chamber of Secrets, Tom and I knew the routine well. We both knelt down in front of the statue of Salazar Slytherin and cried out, "Oh, great Salazar Slytherin, whose blood courses through our veins…!" And then I was floating in front of the golden throne, Tom as Slytherin gazing down at me. "Did you find the body of the Lost?" he asked me.

"Y..Yes, Sir. I have her." I floated higher. "What do I do now?"

Slytherin smiled slowly. "You must bring her to me. Then you will take her to Harry Potter. Only then can you save her Soul."

I was grumpy. "Why Harry? What can he do to help?"

"Don't question me!" he hissed.

I frowned. Everyone seemed to be ganging up on me! "So how do I find the Hall of Lost Souls?"

Slytherin blinked at me. "I have instilled this knowledge in Tom Riddle. Trust him completely, or else the Lost will never be complete again. Abandon those you once confided in and listen only to him. He will never lead you wrong."

I nodded. Yes, Tom would always know what to do.

After a few more moments, I suddenly felt something on my shoulder. I turned my head, and a glowing Soul was sitting on it. Perhaps it was Ginny's! As I reached for it, the scene swirled and disappeared around me. I closed my eyes and opened them slowly again, looking up from where I was kneeling on the ground. Ginny was standing there, her hand on my shoulder. She was shaking her head slowly from side to side, her blank eyes wide with fear. Small whimpers were issuing from her throat.

I started. "Ginny! What are you doing down here?" I looked over at Tom, but he was lying on the floor, breathing hard. He hadn't come out of it yet. "How'd you get down here?"

Ginny couldn't answer, but she clung to me. "Mmm. Mmm. Mmm," she whimpered, desperate to tell me something.

She was distressed. "Come on, let's wake up Tom and go back up. How did you open the Chamber with no Soul? Were you that frightened to remember something like that?" I held her hand tightly. "Tom…Tom, wake up! Ginny followed us down here."

Tom stirred slightly and his eyes fluttered open. "Oh…it's over." He looked at us and smiled. "Ginny…how nice of you to join us."

Ginny continued to shake her head at me. "Don't worry, Gin-Gin," I coaxed. "Tom will help us. He knows what to do next."

Tom came over to us and took one of Ginny's hands. Ginny let him, but immediately fell back to silence, staring straight ahead. It was as if she had turned herself off. Tom spoke. "I do indeed know what to do next." We started to walk back across the Chamber. "We must take Ginny to the Hall of Lost Souls. Just the two of us. You will catch her Soul, and I, as Slytherin, will direct you to the right one. It's as easy as that."

"No one else can come?" I asked. I kicked myself for thinking of Harry. I was supposed to be eliminating him from my life. He was bad for me.

Tom spoke harshly. "No! We will go alone!"

I buried my hands in my pockets. "Fine enough." I felt like everyone was snapping at me all over the place. But I couldn't stay mad at Tom. I needed him too much right now.

*****

After Tom was securely back in his cell, I bade him goodnight and headed back up to the hallway that contained the rooms of Snape and Ginny. I put Ginny back to bed, tucking her in tightly. "Now, stay in here and close your eyes. I'll never snap at you like they all snap at me. Everyone has been so mean to me today!" I felt very angry.

Ginny blinked up at me and snuggled under her covers. Once she had closed her eyes, I locked her into the room with my wand and headed back to Snape's. Snape was dosing lightly on his bed, but a candle still burned brightly. He had been waiting for me to come back. I stood in the room and started to tug off my Quidditch pads, depositing them on the floor. I suddenly felt desperately young and lonely. Now wearing only my Quidditch sweater and pants, I climbed up on the bed next to Snape and curled up next to him.

He slowly regained consciousness and placed a hand on my arm. "I was worried about you. Are you done being stubborn?"

I made an annoyed noise. "Everyone's being mean to me today."

Snape smiled and wrapped a strong arm around me, making me feel very safe. "I'm sorry about that. Maybe tomorrow you'll have a better day."

"Mmm." I was drifting off to sleep. "Can I stay here?"

"Yes." Snape moved a bit to blow out the candle and cover me up with the blankets before lying down next to me again. Tired as I was, I was awake long enough to see Snape glare in puzzlement at the bright light radiating from my pocket before he reached his hand in to find the Snitch. He shook his head with a small smile and closed his eyes.

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