Draco Malfoy
And the Bloodstone
_ _ _ _ _By Ti'ana
Chapter Two
The low rumble of thunder woke Draco out of a blissful rest He
had a dream, he recalled, which he didn't want to wake from, but
all the images were forgotten as he tried to recollect and was
distracted by a flash of lightning. Already, the school year was
going badly, and he hadn't even started his first class yet.
It took him a moment to realize how early it was. He could hear
the snoring of Crabbe and Goyle in the beds next to his. They
were heavy sleepers, and the only thing capable of waking either
of them was extreme hunger or Malfoy's voice yelling at them to
put their rears in gear.
He needed some time alone. Classes wouldn't start for three hours
now, and there was no point in waking his friends if it he was
able to get some "me-time" in there.
Malfoy took out his schedule.. Unfortunately for him, Slytherin
had wound up partnering with Gryffindor in many classes he was
currently taking. Potions, Care for Magical Creatures (which
almost got him killed the year before, or so he made it seem) and
Divination, all three of which were that day. Potions this
morning (all joy of joys), Care for Magical Creatures, then
Divination. Tomorrow, Potions was first, followed by Herbology,
then a History of Magic. According to his schedule, Potions
occurred every day but Monday. Care for Magical Creatures was
twice a week (Tuesdays and Fridays), Divination only on Tuesdays.
Charms was Monday and Wednesday. No Defense Against the Dark Arts
today. It was easily his best, and favorite, class. May as well
get a head start; he took out his book of Dark Arts, and began
reading, although everything he read was forgotten.
He sighed. The thunderstorm was beginning to ebb, and the sun
started to peak through the clouds. It was about eight o'clock
now. This meant it was almost time to get ready for breakfast.
Another thought crossed his mind, which made him feel
uncomfortable. He would have to face Lisha in less than an hour.
She had captivated the minds of his mindless friends, a task not
even he could incur. Even the Bloody Baron and Professor Snape
(of all people!) had taken a liking to her. Malfoy wouldn't allow
himself to like her. There was something about that girl, Lisha,
that bothered him so.
A sickening thud stirred Malfoy's thoughts. "Ah...
Jeez...."
He turned around to see Goyle laying on the floor, clutching his
head and whining. "I'm up! For cripe's sake I'm up!"
"Good," Malfoy mumbled. "I didn't plan on waking
you yet. We have to leave in twenty minutes. Breakfast starts in
a half hour. I want to get downstairs first."
"First?" Crabbe was rubbing sleep from his eyes.
"First as opposed to what?"
"Just first!" Malfoy realized the mistake he had made
when he said that. All he wanted to do was get a seat away from
that Lisha girl. Malfoy surprised himself with how much he
despised a person, a full-blooded witch no less, in a time span
of less than two full days. His only vexation in that time was
Mudbloods, Muggle-lovers and witches and wizards with Muggle
blood in them somewhere, usually from their parents. Draco Malfoy
came from a long line of wizards and witches, and his blood
wasn't tainted in the least by some non-magical person. Muggles
were scum in his and his family's eyes.
At least Malfoy had one thing to be glad about. They were the
first people down at the Slytherin table. He saw Hermione, Ron,
Harry and their friend Neville at the Gryffindor table, but he
was in no mood to bother them.
The food was already set on the table when they arrived. Crabbe
and Goyle hovered over the scrambled eggs and buttered triangles
of toast like vultures, as if waiting for Malfoy's permission to
eat. He sat down, and they attacked the plates. Professor Snape
entered the hall and quietly sat down, but not before throwing a
nasty scowl in Harry Potter's direction. It was a well-known fact
he hated Harry, which was unheard of in the magical world,
besides He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, Lord Voldemort, the one who
tried to kill him.
Within a few minutes, the hall was bustling with activity, but
Lisha was no where in site. "Maybe she's sick," Crabbe
offered, when Goyle asked where their new friend was. Malfoy just
scowled.
The Slytherin table hushed as Lisha, clad in her black school
robe, slowly made her way over to the table. It was
understandable that anyone would be tired the first day of school
and move that lethargically, but it was slow movements not
brought about because of weariness. Her steps were small, and
eventually she sat. Malfoy sighed, relieved, when she sat on the
opposite end of the table. He was slightly perturbed when she
wouldn't acknowledge his unfriendly glare, or even look at him.
She nodded a hello to Goyle, and then to Crabbe when he finished
stuffing a forkful of eggs into his mouth. Lisha sat between
Professor Snape and another student, Pansy Parkinson, who gave
her a look and slid away from her a few inches. Malfoy simpered
when he saw this. He soon realized his attention was drawn
completely to Lisha, and he suddenly became riveted in his
untouched breakfast.
Goyle must have felt particularly upset by the aversion towards
Lisha, for he stood and walked over, smiled and said hello, then
sat. Malfoy watched angrily as the two began to converse like old
friends. Both of them took out their programs, and apparently
were comparing them. Malfoy had done that with the two of them
last night, and obviously they had all the same classes together.
He frowned, though, when he noted by their expressions that Lisha
was in most of them as well. This was all happening too fast for
him to take in.
Breakfast ended. Goyle went back to Malfoy and Crabbe.
"You know, we have an identical schedule to Lisha's! We
thought that was odd, too. She was just telling me about her
tutors. Remember Professor Lupin? He tutored her the summer
before he taught at Hogwarts!"
"Really," Malfoy grumbled. "We're in the same
house, Goyle. C'mon, we're gonna be late for Potions."
And they were. Snape frowned when the three entered the near-full
dungeon-like room below the school. Only four seats remained in
the cold "classroom," if you could even call it that,
and one of the vacancies, of course, was next to Lisha. The three
went to the seats in back of the room.
"If I see you three coming late to class on a regular basis,
it will be twenty points from Slytherin..." He paused for
dramatic effect. "Each. And you know how much I hate having
to take from my own House.
"Now, if I may proceed. I was just explaining how you will
be paired this year. We will be starting off the year with
antidotes, and then to cures for the common curse."
Malfoy had near forgotten they were in the same class as the
Gryffindors, so he was surprised for a moment when he heard
Hermione's annoying voice ask how they were to be paired.
"In the old-fashioned Muggle way. Alphabetical order."
The class groaned. "I cannot trust you to choose partners on
your own. I am afraid Neville Longbottom" (the owner of the
name nearly swallowed his tongue as Snape called him) "will
do better without your disgustingly controlling manner over
projects, Miss Granger. He will never learn if you do everything
for him. Although, I doubt he will learn independently, or with
any student in this class.
"So when I call your name, you will sit in the first
available seat. Everyone stand. Good. Millicent Bulstrode, you
will sit in the first seat. Next to Bulstrode will be Vincent
Crabbe. Seamus Finnigan, you'll sit over here with... "
The list went on. "Neville Longbottom, you will sit
here." Malfoy smirked. There was only one person between he
and Neville, and that person was in Ravenclaw. But to his
surprise, the seat next to him was taken. Oh well, he would
probably be put next to Pansy Parkinson, another Slytherin who
was almost as sharp and rude as he was. Because of this, the two
were rumored to date (much to the delight of Pansy, and the
disgust of Malfoy). He would be the next one they called...
"Lisha Luralby and Draco Malfoy."
"NOOO!" Malfoy literally exploded. "You can't do
this, Professor Snape! Please, put me with Neville Longbottom,
with Pansy Parkinson. PUT ME WITH HARRY POTTER, BUT FOR GOD'S
SAKE NOT WITH THAT FREAK GIRL!"
"Twenty points from Slytherin! And detention for a week if I
hear you complain any further. NOW TAKE YOUR SEAT, MISTER
MALFOY!"
Lisha was already seated, and when Malfoy came over, she gave him
a hurt expression. "I don't like you either, Draco Malfoy.
No one in this godforsaken school likes me, and I know that. I
would rather work with that klutz Longbottom than you, but
there's nothing we can do but accept the current predicament.
Now," her voice lowered even further, if possible, "I
want this to be a pleasant year, no matter how much we dislike
each other. Can you agree to that?"
A certain pair of vulgar words overheard by Professor Snape took
another ten points from Slytherin. This was certainly shaping up
to be an excellent year, alright.
***
"You hold 'em like this." Hagrid, the Care for Magical
Creatures teacher, was demonstrating how to handle a teekuu, a
big fluff ball that seemed harmless. "Now, don't ferget to
watch out for 'em nasty claws 'a there's. If you're annoyin' 'em
enough, they'll lash out at ye."
Malfoy rolled his eyes. He couldn't stand the class almost as
much as he could the teacher. He and Hagrid always had it in for
each other, especially after the incident last year with
Buckbeak, a nasty hippogriff that nearly broke his arm. He was
supposed to be executed, but by some odd twist of fate was
rescued along with Sirius Black, accused murderer of twelve
Muggles (as if that mattered) and "Wormtail," an old
friend (and traitor) of Harry Potter's parents.
"Now yer gonna be placed in pairs" (Malfoy's pale blue
eyes darted to the silent Lisha, he would NOT be partnered with
her again) "which you will choose yerselves. Yer gonna be
carin' for one of these babies all term. Keep 'em healthy like ye
would any pet'uv yers. They can be real darlin's some
times." The teekuu in Hagrid's hand was nibbling his
fingers. "See what I mean?"
"What you mean," Malfoy called out, "is that
having a furry, disgustingly cute creature biting your hands off
is sweet. And if that's your definition of sweet, I refuse to
take part in this."
"You will do what I tell ye to do or that'll be ten points
from yer house and I'll be givin' you extra assignments outside'a
class. Now pick a partner yer gonna be workin' with for a long
time. Go."
Malfoy grabbed his closest friend: Crabbe. He half-expected Goyle
to complain, but he was already off, choosing his partner. HER.
Malfoy watched, enviously, as she smiled when Goyle came over.
Right now, he would prefer his air-headed friend be working with
Hermione, who still searched for a partner as Harry and Ron
paired up. Hermione looked upset, but he overheard Hagrid tell
her she could assist him.
"It's kinda cute if you ask me." Crabbe scratched his
teekuu under the chin, and it purred in contentment. "Wanna
hold it?"
Draco's repulsed expression answered the question.
"Okay, if you don't wanna. We gotta care for this thing all
year, and you're never gonna touch it?"
"I"d prefer not to, thanks." The large brown
pool-like eyes of the teekuu looked at him despondently. Like
Lisha's, he thought. He glanced over at her. She was
laughing; apparently the teekuu had found its way up her sleeve
and was resting under the crook of her arm. A slight smile played
across his lips, but was wiped away when he saw Goyle waving at
him. Lisha looked over the crowd to see who her partner was
waving at, and her laughter became a dull silence that seemed to
echo over the field. She reached up her sleeve and pulled the
teekuu out by the scruff.
Malfoy roughly pulled the teekuu away from Crabbe. Surprised, the
half-asleep creature squealed something awful and grabbed
Malfoy's sleeve with its sharp claws. He waved his arm wildly,
which caused the small fluff ball to latch on tighter. It let go,
eventually, and sprinted down Malfoy's sleeve. He stifled a laugh
as it brushed against his arm, then climbed his stomach, which
tickled more than it hurt, despite the many claw marks he must
have had by now, and shot out of the top of the robe, landing on
Malfoy's head where it quickly made a nest and laid down.
The class was howling with laughter. Ron Weasley was on the floor
clutching his stomach, Harry almost strangling his as he
snickered, Crabbe and Goyle hitting each other's arms as they
pointed, and even Hagrid chuckling. Lisha, though, simply shook
her head and stroked the animal sleeping on her arm.
Crabbe and Malfoy's teekuu had fallen asleep already in the
blonde mass of hair. "What am I supposed to do with this
thing?"
Hagrid, for once, answered Malfoy without hollering or correcting
his actions. "Ne'er seen anything run like that. Best to
leave 'em where he is. Teekuus don't like ta be bothered from
their sleep, mind ye. 'Sides, don'tche feel special havin' a ball
o' fur curled up on yer head?"
Malfoy didn't answer. He never truly "liked" anything,
but he had to admit, he was beginning to fancy these teekuu
things. Much better they were than hippogriffs!
He almost forgot the animal on his head until he started leaving
back to the school for his next class. Hagrid didn't notice
either until he was almost half way to the school. Malfoy
apologized, which surprised Hagrid so much he offered to put the
animal back for them.
Back in the school, Malfoy found the Slytherin table where Crabbe
and Goyle already sat. They were already chatting.
"She said she used to have a pet teekuu, you know. D'ya know
how big those things can get? Like, huge!" Goyle
stretched his arms out to their full expansion, whacking Malfoy
in the stomach. "Drac! Where were you? Didya hear about that
new girl?"
Rubbing his stomach, Malfoy slipped into an empty space between
the two. Coolly, he shook his head. "What about the new
girl?"
"Lisha Luralby." Malfoy shuddered. "She really did
come to this school! Remember, first day of Potions class, you
turned her hair green because you didn't know the difference
between green weely solution and green weely mixture?"
Crabbe laughed as Goyle recounted the event. "And- and when
you put the mixture in the pot with the boiling water it exploded
all over some girl! That was her!"
"No," Malfoy said quickly. "Don't remember."
"Where is she, anyway?"
Goyle shrugged. "Think she said she had to go to Snape.
Anyway, we'd better hurry and eat, 'cause we got Divination next
and we don't want to miss one prediction Trelawney has in store
for us this year."
Divination was uneventful. Professor Trelawney introduced them to
Astrology, and according to her charts, "Someone in the
class" (Malfoy noted her mournful glance at Harry Potter; he
saw Ron stifled a laugh) will have passed into the next world by
the end of this year." Professor Trelawney always predicted
Harry was going to die, but none of her prognostications had been
true. Unfortunately, for Malfoy that is.
"Vincent," she said, as she hovered over the table
Malfoy and his friends sat at, "According to your sign, the
Pisces, and the current position of the constellation in the sky
and the recent moon patterns, what do you think that means about
the coming days?"
Crabbe stuttered, but eventually cracked a smile. "I'm gonna
die, aren't I?"
She beamed. "I'm very glad to see you take the news so well.
You will not die, don't worry. But I predict you will be gravely
injured by mid-May. In store for you this week, I see nothing
awful awaiting. Oh, and don't forget to do your Potions homework,
or Professor Snape will lash out at you viscously by Thursday I
predict."
She stopped over Malfoy. She looked him over for a moment, and
then smiled. "I see a bright and happy future for you this
year at school. Yes– I see your first day back has already
been rather joyous."
Crabbe and Goyle snickered. Malfoy waited until she walked away
to hit each of them on the sides of the head. It seemed a risky
feat, because both of them were twice his size and to abuse them
like that was one exploit. They were too loyal to Draco, blind
faith of course because they were too stupid to know much of
anything else.
Professor Trelawney made a few more grim predictions before she
decided to let everyone do their own work on their own charts.
Five minutes before class ended, she gave them their first
assignment.
"I want you to plot out every day for the next month and
what you think will happen." She tapped their book, Unfogging
the Future. "This should help you with the position of
the stars and phases of the moon. Make serious predictions,
please." She eyed Ron Weasley, who was tapping Harry and
clamping his hands around his neck. Both were laughing quietly.
"This is a serious matter, class."
"I predict I'm going to die," Draco mumbled on his way
out of the class with Crabbe. Goyle stayed behind to speak with
Professor Trelawney. Odd it seemed to both of them, as they knew
just as well as Goyle did staying longer than he had to after
class was way out of character. "Simple premonition. I mean,
I am going to die someday, so it isn't like I'm lying.
One-hundred percent true."
"I predict I'll be eating a nice, big helping of Cornish
pastries in the next few minutes. Let's go down to the kitchen,
I'm hungry again."
