A/N: Thank 4 all the pplz who reviewd me JJ….except maybe for that evil LULU gal….L…oh well….plz r/r
DISCLAIMER: there is really no point in these, coz everyone knowz wat we're gonna say in it, but anyway: all the stuff belongs to J.K ROWLING (cept 4 the idea)
The figure in front of him groaned as Draco prodded it, hoping it was only a figment of his imagination. When he realised that it wasn't, he jumped up and pranced around the room, wringing his hand in worry. The man shook his head and stood up, stretching his long, skinny arms. Draco gulped and whispered the words that were dying to escape from his mouth, dry with fear.
"J-James Potter?" he asked, staring at the man, who turned around and stared at him, astonished.
"You can see me?" James Potter asked surprised, tossing his messy black hair out of his eyes. Draco whimpered and looked down, nodding his head slightly. What had he done?
"But how-?" James asked looking down himself and walking over to Draco, poking him.
"The Krilic curse," Draco said, his voice croaky and quiet.
"The what?" James said, pulling Draco's hair in amazement.
"The Krilic curse- it brings someone back from the dead. Only, you're supposed to be my dad!" Draco exclaimed, pushing James' hand away.
"Oh, yes, Krilic, I remember. Are you saying that you're father is dead? So you're Lucuis Malfoy's son aren't you? You must be, you look just like him. So that good-for-nothing scoundrel is dead, is he? About time too…" he paused when he saw the distressed look on Draco's face. "Sorry, it's just that I never really did like him. So, why am I here when it's supposed to be your father, and why did you want your father back anyway?"
"Well, he asked me to, before he died. How am I supposed to know why you're here, I did everything right," he exclaimed. James raised his eyebrows and circled him, looking him up and down.
"If you're a bungling fool like your father was, I can't say I'm surprised. So, where exactly are we, at the moment?" James asked, walking towards the door.
"Don't go there! What if someone sees you? Are you crazy?" Draco pulled him back urgently.
"Gosh, the brains in your family must have skipped a generation. You've got more brains in your little finger than your father would've had at all."
"Quit with the insults, alright. Now is not the time," Draco said, placing his hands over his eyes. James sighed and walked over to him.
"Look, it might not be as bad as you think. Maybe you're the only one that can see me. Relax; we'll just have to figure out a way to… get over this problem. It'll be alright, trust me-"
Just then, heavy footsteps began to walk down the hall. Draco cursed and hurriedly began scooping the candle and things into his pocket. The door began to creak open. Quick as a flash, Draco hid underneath a table, stacked against the far wall. James, however, stood perfectly still.
"…I'm sure I heard something smash around in here, a big bang, just before the storm started…" Draco recognised Professor Snape's deep boom of authority. Draco closed his eyes, praying that James was invisible.
"Then don't you think that it's possible it was the thunder before the storm?" another voice said wearily.
"No, I'm sure of it," Snape replied. Draco watched the movements of Snape's feet as he circled the room, looking for something.
"Forget about it, Severus. Voldemort is not lurking around every corner. You had the power to evade him, so bask in your glory. We've got more important matters to deal with. What about Karkaroff? He's been on our backs ever since the Triwizard Tournament. What are we going to do about the body he planted us with? Somebody's going to realise that she isn't on holiday anymore. It's just like last year, with Bertha from the Ministry. It can't go on forever…" the voice trailed off. Draco heard Snape sigh after a short pause.
"Come on, lets get out of here," Snape said, seemingly disgusted at the voice's lack of interest. Draco held his breath as they stormed out of the room, closing the door firmly behind them. After a couple of minutes, he ventured out quietly, breathing softly. He leant against the wall, sighing in relief and turned to stare at James, who'd stood perfectly still throughout the whole conversation.
They stared at each other, each knowing the full extent of what they heard. They gazed ashamedly around the room. How would they be able to let Dumbledore know about this? Draco shouldn't have been in the room. But it was still so serious. Who had Snape been talking to, and whom had he been talking about?
א
"Stay still," Draco hissed as James squirmed uncomfortably in the empty seat next to Draco.
"What?" Crabbe drooled chicken soup over the table, turning to look at Draco, just as James spoke. "Well, I'm sorry, it's just that I've never had to sit at the Slytherin table before, it's not right."
Draco gave him a look that plainly said deal with it, and returned to his soup. He was trying desperately to stay awake. He hadn't been able to sleep at all last night. By the time James and Draco had talked and figured out everything, he was too preoccupied with what he'd heard from Snape earlier on.
He stared at James, whose eyes were fixed on the door, waiting for Harry to enter. Draco had managed to restrain James from seeing Harry last night, convincing him it would be better to see him awake. Thank goodness Draco was the only one who was able to see James.
"What do you think is taking him so long?" James asked, starting to stand up. "I'm going to look for him."
"No!" several people turned to look at Draco, who glared at Crabbe in a desperate attempt to cover up. "No. You're supposed to be on a diet, remember?" Crabbe stared back blankly, and shook his head dumbly as he went back to his fourth piece of toast. Draco turned back to James, who was halfway across the room. He stood up and started to catch up with him, when Pansy Parkinson blocked his path.
"Hi Draco. How's it going?" she said, twirling her fingers around her greasy hand, smiling foolishly. Draco pushed her out of the way, storming ahead to James who was behind Harry, squeezing his way in to get a good look at him.
"Isn't he wonderful, Draco? I've seen all he has done, forever and now I can actually touch him, hold my son again…" James reached forward to flatten Harry's messy black hair. Harry, sensing the hand on his head, turned around and stared shocked at Draco. There was an awkward silence as Draco realised Harry thought Draco had been stroking his hair and the conclusion he'd come to.
"Er-are you right there, Malfoy?" Ron sneered wickedly.
"Not that you care, Weasley, but yes, I am. I've come to talk to-er-uh-um-" Draco racked his mind, trying to think of a decent excuse, before his gaze settled on the perfect answer. "Uh-Ginny."
All heads turned to Ginny who was staring at Draco dumbfounded.
"And what makes you think she wants to talk to you?" Harry scorned, turning his attention back to Draco.
"Everything," Draco smirked, pulling Ginny up and storming away with her before neither Ron nor Harry could do anything. He glared discreetly at James, who raised his eyebrows in silent laughter, as he walked past. Leave him there, he thought. What do I care if he's seen?
"Let go of me," Ginny pulled at Draco's arm until he released his grip. "Finally. Now what did you want to talk about?" she mocked.
"Nothing. Seeya," Draco whistled and turned around, leaving Ginny dumbfounded.
"Wha-well, y-you just can't do that. Come back here, you loser!" Ginny cried out, walking to catch up with him.
"Now, why would you want to be seen with a loser?" Draco cocked his head to the side.
"Oh- you make me so mad!" Ginny said childishly before kicking him firmly on the calf. Draco cursed and leant over to ease the throbbing pain her foot had left. She smiled, satisfied at his pain, and stalked away.
א
Draco stared at the colourful bruise Ginny had left on his leg. A deep black blue crop of bruises splattered down from under his knee to halfway down his shin. He groaned and pulled his robe down, returning to his Transfiguration homework (a step-by-step procedure on how to turn a table into a chair).
"Fancy you letting a girl do that to you," James said, glancing at Draco, a firm smirk on his face as he lay alongside the fire. "Gosh, it's freezing in here. How can you put up with it?" James shivered.
"Just barely," Draco replied distractedly. A young first year glanced wide-eyed at Draco before pouncing off to her dormitory. James stood up and walked over to the stonewall, where rusted chains were hanging. Draco could see the plan forming in his eyes.
"What say we have a little bit of good old harmless fun…" James grabbed the chain and shook his hands quickly, the rusted relics scratching the wall and making the most horrible noise. It took a couple of moments for the sounds to sink in, but in seconds the whole common room was in hysterics, both boys and girls.
All except Draco, who stood up, flinging his quill down on the desk to storm over to James. With all the force he could muster, he gripped James wrist and pulled roughly, glaring at James, who smirked back. At the sudden stop of the rattling, the whole room quietened before Pansy squealed and skipped over to Draco.
"Oh, how brave of you. Hurray to Draccy!" she cried, galloping around Draco.
"Oh, shut up!" Draco shouted suddenly. "Are you sure your hair is really brown? Shouldn't you be some dumb blonde bimbo, cheering for some no-hope Quidditch team? Get lost!" he snapped, pushing her roughly out of the way and storming over to his desk.
"You shouldn't have done that, you know," James commented, sitting over Draco's homework.
"Yeah, I should've let you keep scaring the hell out of everyone," Draco replied sarcastically.
"No, I mean you shouldn't have yelled at Pansy like that. Trust me; don't piss the other sex off. It'll only lead to no good. I had one girl like Pansy in my seventh year, nearly broke up Lily and me when I yelled at her like that. If you want to get Ginny to notice-" James was cut short as Draco clamped his hand over his mouth.
"I don't like her," he whispered harshly.
א
Dear Draco,
How are you? I'm fine, of course, well, as fine as I can be, considering your father's death and all. I was cleaning out the attic the other day, and came across some things your father owned, that I thought you might like to have.
I miss you incredibly dear. I know it's only October, but I need to ask. Will you be coming home for Christmas? I hope you are. I've also sent you some money and food. Enjoy!
Love you,
Mum. XXX
Draco looked at the letter and stared down at the thick, bulky package that had come with it. Peeling back the tape that sealed it, he stared at the things his mother had sent. There was her usual bag of money and cakes, as well as some other things. There were a few books and a slim, gold ring he'd often seen on his father's finger when he was younger. There was also a diary of some sort, patched and dog-eared. Draco pulled it open and stared at the writing, in faded gold, on the solid black pages.
He will come back with a vengeance, there is no end. Though the Potter's have seemingly vanquished him, he will be back to overpower them all. Harry has no chance. There will be no end for Voldemort. He has killed before, and he has taught others to kill as him. I will be the next one, I will conquer the world as he has done;- what he has started, I will finish. I will be the invincible one, and though his body is dead, his memory will live on. Death is only the beginning…
That was all that was written. Draco stared at it, perplexed, before closing it and placing it in his trunk at the end of his bed, before lying down to sleep.