Disclaimer: Much as I'd like to, I don't own Draco Malfoy, or any part of the magical world that J.K. Rowling has all the copyrights to ... please don't sue me. There are some parts of this story that are quotes from the book - it can't be helped - events are the same as in the book, but Draco's opinion of these events may vary from Harry's.
Author's Notes: I needed to do some re-writing, after reading OotP. I have made some minor changes to this chapter, mostly spelling and grammar.
dragonsprincess: The dream was meant to imply Lupin wouldn't hurt her because Black would protect her. This story is totally different from ATHSS, and I don't really like it when people try to compare them.
angelkas: Yes, Theo really is attracted to shiney objects.
Caz Malfoy: *sighs* fine, I'll not delete ATHSS ... but I still don't get why anyone likes it ... ok, it got better as it went on, but I can't understand how anyone could get past the first two totally-crappy books of it.
Bob: I just don't like ATHSS as much as this ... there are parts of the last three books of ATHSS I am quite proud of, I just don't understand how people get that far, when the first two-or-three books of it are so crap!
Akuma-sama: Well, I do like writing PoA ... but not so much happens in my version of it ... obviously you have lots of stuff planned for it, so I also look forward to that ... and your next chapter - hint hint.
Starre: Actually, that's not far off what the Muggle Studies teacher would wear ... not what the man I based him on would wear, but I think you got the character's "fashion sense" pretty accurate, there.
Sinical-Sarchasm: Yeah, that is freakish ... I think I'm two of those, I'm not bipolar, though.
Introducing Hogsmeade, the Shrieking Shack, and Padfoot.
Chapter 9 - Hogsmeade
Nothing interesting happened between then and the end of October. The day before Halloween, I dawdled after Potions class. "Mr Malfoy?" Snape asked, as the last student left.
"I just wanted to make sure that ... that our Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher is ... taking his medication." I said.
"I made a point to watch him take it, today, and will endeavour to do so tomorrow." Snape said coldly, "You have no need to worry, Mr Malfoy."
"Thank you, sir." I said, smiling. I knew it would be a wolf moon on Halloween, and I wasn't going to take any chances. I really am terrified of werewolves ... I think I mentioned that before, once or twice.
* * *
October 31st was the first Hogsmeade trip - Father had owled my permission form in at the start of the year, to save me the trouble. Pansy was prancing around the breakfast table like a hyperactive pixie, obviously excited about getting to Hogsmeade ... I made a mental note to keep her away from Honeydukes - she had already consumed far too much sugar. Theo was planning a visit to Zonko's to stock up on supplies to annoy Lupin. Milli, Blaise and Cat were discussing the feast later that evening, and seemed to be up to something.
I had been to Hogsmeade a few times before, and knew some of the shops there, but it was a much cheaper than Diagon Alley. I had never seen the Shrieking Shack, though - I wanted to see that - it was supposed to be haunted, and I like ghosts ... except the Bloody Baron, but there's always an exception to the rule.
* * *
I noticed Potter decided to stay safely in the castle, away from all the Dementors. And they say Gryffindors are brave - ha.
Pansy was clinging to me like she was afraid I'd disappear the moment she left me alone ... I would have, too, if she'd let me. Crabbe and Goyle followed us, too stupid to realise that, one, Pansy didn't want them hanging around us, and two, they had no interest in where either of us wanted to go.
Pansy dragged me around Gladrags and some other shops that only a female would go to without a pre-planned list of things to buy. I was bored out of my mind.
"Just this one more shop, Draco." Pansy said cheerfully.
"You said that three shops ago." I noted.
"But this one's got -"
"NO!" I snapped, "I want to go to the Three Broomsticks. I want to go to Honeydukes, and I want to see the Shrieking Shack. If you keep dragging me along on your little girly shopping spree, I will not have time to do anything I want. You go on - take these two twits with you, and I will go and meet up with Theo, at Zonko's."
Pansy pouted, "But DRACO!" she whined.
"Pansy." I said in my best diplomatic tone, "Please. I'll sit with you at the Feast - I promise. But I know you don't want to go near the Shrieking Shack, and I really want to see it. I'll meet you back at the school gates in time to go back up to Hogwarts together. O.K.?"
With a dramatic sigh and a bit of a huffy tone, Pansy replied, "Fine, fine. I'll meet you then." and with that, she beckoned for Crabbe and Goyle to follow her into the shop.
I almost pitied those two, if I didn't know they were too stupid to be put out by Pansy's attitude.
I made my way quickly to Zonko's Joke Shop, where it wasn't hard to find Theo. He looked like he was debating whether to buy Dungbombs or Stink Pellets.
"Get them both." I said.
Theo didn't even pretend to be startled by my sudden appearance, "Good idea." he said, taking one box of each and walking over to the counter to pay for them.
As we left the shop, he then asked me, "Did you ditch the bitch, then?"
"She's not that bad ... she doesn't annoy me on purpose, it's an innate talent that she hasn't learned to control yet." I said, smirking.
"Uh huh. And she's a bitch."
"If you say so."
"Honeydukes?" he asked, pointing towards the sweetshop. I nodded and followed him into the shop. I watched as he stocked up on blood-flavour-lollipops ... strange child. I bought a couple of bars of chocolate, with respect to the fact that I had to pass the Dementors again.
We made our way silently, to the Three Broomsticks and got drinks of Butterbeer - I've been in here before, but I had never tried the Butterbeer - it was delicious, the best drink I had ever tasted.
"What - you never tried this before?" Theo asked, stunned.
"Contrary to popular belief, I have not been exposed to the outside world that much, Theo. I have only ever been anywhere with my parents, before Hogwarts, and mother would never let me have something like this - apparently it's too common for a Malfoy, and I should drink stuff that had a designer label and a French name."
Theo made a gagging noise, "I pity you. I tried one of those, it made me sick for a week."
"Must have been one of the cheaper ones."
"I couldn't afford the proper stuff."
"That's why I was force-fed it, to prove my family is better than everyone else." I said bitterly ... and that stuff is bitter, too. Now this Butterbeer is good.
"Stuck up snobs." he said cheerfully.
"We are, aren't we?" I asked, taking his insult as a compliment - easiest way to annoy anyone who's trying to insult you. He ignored it and was most un-annoyed.
* * *
As we wandered up to the Shrieking Shack, we were accosted by the Weasley twins.
"What're you two doing here?" one of them asked.
"We're going up to the Shrieking Shack." I growled.
"Wanna see if we can get inside." Theo noted. Well, maybe he did - I was more interested in seeing if I could talk to any of the ghosts there.
"No way in." one Weasley said.
"We've been trying for the last couple of years, so far." the other added.
"Well, you're Weasleys, aren't you? You're inferior minds obviously can't work out how to get in." I snapped.
One Weasley drew his wand, pointing it at me, "Just because you're pretending to be an invalid doesn't mean we won't hex you, Malfoy." he said coldly.
"Whoa, whoa." Theo said, stepping between the Weasleys and me, "Let's not kill each other." he said, holding his hands up in what was supposed to ask for the twins and I to stand down, "How about we work together on this one - you tell us what you've worked out about the place so far, and we'll tell you whatever we work out from it when we take a look - maybe together, we can find a way in."
I really didn't think I'd need the Weasleys' help, but they seemed to consider Theo's suggestion, "All right, then. There's a hole round the left side, but it's magically protected so you can't cut it any bigger, and no human could fit through it. McGonagall might be able to get in there, but you can understand why we'd not ask for her help, can't you?"
I smirked slightly, "Thanks." Theo said, "Now we'll tell you anything we figure out about it, after we've had a look."
The twins nodded, recognising my continued hostility towards them, and seeming to realise that Theo was playing the peacemaker and it'd be a good idea to play along. They departed without further confrontation.
Theo then started round the side of the Shack and I followed him. As I turned the corner, I found him kneeling down and looking through a torn hole in the wall of the building, "Pretty messed up in there - normal ghosts didn't do that. Maybe Peeves used to live here." he suggested.
"How badly is it trashed?" I asked, standing over him imperiously - I was not about to degrade myself my kneeling down in the dirt. And I didn't want to get my robes dirty, either.
"Total devastation ... my bedroom at home is a palace of tidy organisation, compared to in there." Theo said to me.
I smirked - his personality didn't leave much room for doubt that it would be impossible to find floor-space in his bedroom. "So it's a bit untidy?" I asked, with sarcasm.
"Just a bit." Theo concurred with greater sarcasm.
"Theo." I said, suddenly - I had spotted an animal approaching - Theo looked up, followed the direction of my gaze, and froze for a second. It was a large black dog, and it was walking towards us. It stopped a few feet away and stared at us. I took a step backwards, "Just back away from it, slowly, Theo - it'll not do anything to us if we don't pose a threat."
Theo, however, had other ideas. He stood up and walked slowly towards the animal, reaching into his pocket and producing a mini-cauldron cake and holding it out to the dog, "Here, boy." he said in a kind tone, "Nice doggie."
The dog took a few tentative steps towards Theo, sniffed the cauldron cake, and then snapped up the offered treat in one bite. It licked its jaws and looked up at Theo with what appeared to be gratitude.
"Want another?" Theo asked it.
"Don't encourage it, Theo." I snapped, backing away a little more.
The dog looked at me pointedly, then turned to Theo and nodded hopefully. Theo produced a handful of the mini-cakes and handed them to the dog one at a time. The dog seemed to be practically starving - it was wolfing down the food it was offered like it hadn't eaten in years.
After Theo had emptied his hands of the cakes, he said, "Sorry, boy - that's all I've got ... you wouldn't like the lollipops, and chocolate is bad for dogs." he then proceeded to scratch the dog behind the ear in a friendly way. The dog leaned into his hand, figuratively lapping up the attention. "See, Draco. He's harmless. Just a stray."
"Just be careful." I muttered, "You never know which animals will bite you 'til it's too late."
The dog glanced at me for a second, but decided to continue ignoring me and returned its attention to the ear-scratching Theo was giving it.
"Watch it doesn't give you fleas." I noted.
The dog glared at me, "No fleas on him." Theo said coolly, "Are there, boy?" he asked. The dog shook his shaggy head, but after a while it seemed to tire of Theo's attention and started to trot off around the side of the Shrieking Shack. Theo watched it, with a puzzled expression, then followed a moment later. "He's gone." he announced.
"Gone where?"
"Disappeared ... run off ... gone." Theo reiterated.
"Eat and run. Nice animal." I noted.
Theo shrugged, "I liked him. He was ... he looked a lot like that thing Cat turned the Boggart into."
I snorted, "Sure ... all stray dogs look alike." I muttered, turning to leave - I had outstayed my interest and the place was old news, now.
* * *
End of chapter 9
Author's Notes: I needed to do some re-writing, after reading OotP. I have made some minor changes to this chapter, mostly spelling and grammar.
dragonsprincess: The dream was meant to imply Lupin wouldn't hurt her because Black would protect her. This story is totally different from ATHSS, and I don't really like it when people try to compare them.
angelkas: Yes, Theo really is attracted to shiney objects.
Caz Malfoy: *sighs* fine, I'll not delete ATHSS ... but I still don't get why anyone likes it ... ok, it got better as it went on, but I can't understand how anyone could get past the first two totally-crappy books of it.
Bob: I just don't like ATHSS as much as this ... there are parts of the last three books of ATHSS I am quite proud of, I just don't understand how people get that far, when the first two-or-three books of it are so crap!
Akuma-sama: Well, I do like writing PoA ... but not so much happens in my version of it ... obviously you have lots of stuff planned for it, so I also look forward to that ... and your next chapter - hint hint.
Starre: Actually, that's not far off what the Muggle Studies teacher would wear ... not what the man I based him on would wear, but I think you got the character's "fashion sense" pretty accurate, there.
Sinical-Sarchasm: Yeah, that is freakish ... I think I'm two of those, I'm not bipolar, though.
Introducing Hogsmeade, the Shrieking Shack, and Padfoot.
Chapter 9 - Hogsmeade
Nothing interesting happened between then and the end of October. The day before Halloween, I dawdled after Potions class. "Mr Malfoy?" Snape asked, as the last student left.
"I just wanted to make sure that ... that our Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher is ... taking his medication." I said.
"I made a point to watch him take it, today, and will endeavour to do so tomorrow." Snape said coldly, "You have no need to worry, Mr Malfoy."
"Thank you, sir." I said, smiling. I knew it would be a wolf moon on Halloween, and I wasn't going to take any chances. I really am terrified of werewolves ... I think I mentioned that before, once or twice.
* * *
October 31st was the first Hogsmeade trip - Father had owled my permission form in at the start of the year, to save me the trouble. Pansy was prancing around the breakfast table like a hyperactive pixie, obviously excited about getting to Hogsmeade ... I made a mental note to keep her away from Honeydukes - she had already consumed far too much sugar. Theo was planning a visit to Zonko's to stock up on supplies to annoy Lupin. Milli, Blaise and Cat were discussing the feast later that evening, and seemed to be up to something.
I had been to Hogsmeade a few times before, and knew some of the shops there, but it was a much cheaper than Diagon Alley. I had never seen the Shrieking Shack, though - I wanted to see that - it was supposed to be haunted, and I like ghosts ... except the Bloody Baron, but there's always an exception to the rule.
* * *
I noticed Potter decided to stay safely in the castle, away from all the Dementors. And they say Gryffindors are brave - ha.
Pansy was clinging to me like she was afraid I'd disappear the moment she left me alone ... I would have, too, if she'd let me. Crabbe and Goyle followed us, too stupid to realise that, one, Pansy didn't want them hanging around us, and two, they had no interest in where either of us wanted to go.
Pansy dragged me around Gladrags and some other shops that only a female would go to without a pre-planned list of things to buy. I was bored out of my mind.
"Just this one more shop, Draco." Pansy said cheerfully.
"You said that three shops ago." I noted.
"But this one's got -"
"NO!" I snapped, "I want to go to the Three Broomsticks. I want to go to Honeydukes, and I want to see the Shrieking Shack. If you keep dragging me along on your little girly shopping spree, I will not have time to do anything I want. You go on - take these two twits with you, and I will go and meet up with Theo, at Zonko's."
Pansy pouted, "But DRACO!" she whined.
"Pansy." I said in my best diplomatic tone, "Please. I'll sit with you at the Feast - I promise. But I know you don't want to go near the Shrieking Shack, and I really want to see it. I'll meet you back at the school gates in time to go back up to Hogwarts together. O.K.?"
With a dramatic sigh and a bit of a huffy tone, Pansy replied, "Fine, fine. I'll meet you then." and with that, she beckoned for Crabbe and Goyle to follow her into the shop.
I almost pitied those two, if I didn't know they were too stupid to be put out by Pansy's attitude.
I made my way quickly to Zonko's Joke Shop, where it wasn't hard to find Theo. He looked like he was debating whether to buy Dungbombs or Stink Pellets.
"Get them both." I said.
Theo didn't even pretend to be startled by my sudden appearance, "Good idea." he said, taking one box of each and walking over to the counter to pay for them.
As we left the shop, he then asked me, "Did you ditch the bitch, then?"
"She's not that bad ... she doesn't annoy me on purpose, it's an innate talent that she hasn't learned to control yet." I said, smirking.
"Uh huh. And she's a bitch."
"If you say so."
"Honeydukes?" he asked, pointing towards the sweetshop. I nodded and followed him into the shop. I watched as he stocked up on blood-flavour-lollipops ... strange child. I bought a couple of bars of chocolate, with respect to the fact that I had to pass the Dementors again.
We made our way silently, to the Three Broomsticks and got drinks of Butterbeer - I've been in here before, but I had never tried the Butterbeer - it was delicious, the best drink I had ever tasted.
"What - you never tried this before?" Theo asked, stunned.
"Contrary to popular belief, I have not been exposed to the outside world that much, Theo. I have only ever been anywhere with my parents, before Hogwarts, and mother would never let me have something like this - apparently it's too common for a Malfoy, and I should drink stuff that had a designer label and a French name."
Theo made a gagging noise, "I pity you. I tried one of those, it made me sick for a week."
"Must have been one of the cheaper ones."
"I couldn't afford the proper stuff."
"That's why I was force-fed it, to prove my family is better than everyone else." I said bitterly ... and that stuff is bitter, too. Now this Butterbeer is good.
"Stuck up snobs." he said cheerfully.
"We are, aren't we?" I asked, taking his insult as a compliment - easiest way to annoy anyone who's trying to insult you. He ignored it and was most un-annoyed.
* * *
As we wandered up to the Shrieking Shack, we were accosted by the Weasley twins.
"What're you two doing here?" one of them asked.
"We're going up to the Shrieking Shack." I growled.
"Wanna see if we can get inside." Theo noted. Well, maybe he did - I was more interested in seeing if I could talk to any of the ghosts there.
"No way in." one Weasley said.
"We've been trying for the last couple of years, so far." the other added.
"Well, you're Weasleys, aren't you? You're inferior minds obviously can't work out how to get in." I snapped.
One Weasley drew his wand, pointing it at me, "Just because you're pretending to be an invalid doesn't mean we won't hex you, Malfoy." he said coldly.
"Whoa, whoa." Theo said, stepping between the Weasleys and me, "Let's not kill each other." he said, holding his hands up in what was supposed to ask for the twins and I to stand down, "How about we work together on this one - you tell us what you've worked out about the place so far, and we'll tell you whatever we work out from it when we take a look - maybe together, we can find a way in."
I really didn't think I'd need the Weasleys' help, but they seemed to consider Theo's suggestion, "All right, then. There's a hole round the left side, but it's magically protected so you can't cut it any bigger, and no human could fit through it. McGonagall might be able to get in there, but you can understand why we'd not ask for her help, can't you?"
I smirked slightly, "Thanks." Theo said, "Now we'll tell you anything we figure out about it, after we've had a look."
The twins nodded, recognising my continued hostility towards them, and seeming to realise that Theo was playing the peacemaker and it'd be a good idea to play along. They departed without further confrontation.
Theo then started round the side of the Shack and I followed him. As I turned the corner, I found him kneeling down and looking through a torn hole in the wall of the building, "Pretty messed up in there - normal ghosts didn't do that. Maybe Peeves used to live here." he suggested.
"How badly is it trashed?" I asked, standing over him imperiously - I was not about to degrade myself my kneeling down in the dirt. And I didn't want to get my robes dirty, either.
"Total devastation ... my bedroom at home is a palace of tidy organisation, compared to in there." Theo said to me.
I smirked - his personality didn't leave much room for doubt that it would be impossible to find floor-space in his bedroom. "So it's a bit untidy?" I asked, with sarcasm.
"Just a bit." Theo concurred with greater sarcasm.
"Theo." I said, suddenly - I had spotted an animal approaching - Theo looked up, followed the direction of my gaze, and froze for a second. It was a large black dog, and it was walking towards us. It stopped a few feet away and stared at us. I took a step backwards, "Just back away from it, slowly, Theo - it'll not do anything to us if we don't pose a threat."
Theo, however, had other ideas. He stood up and walked slowly towards the animal, reaching into his pocket and producing a mini-cauldron cake and holding it out to the dog, "Here, boy." he said in a kind tone, "Nice doggie."
The dog took a few tentative steps towards Theo, sniffed the cauldron cake, and then snapped up the offered treat in one bite. It licked its jaws and looked up at Theo with what appeared to be gratitude.
"Want another?" Theo asked it.
"Don't encourage it, Theo." I snapped, backing away a little more.
The dog looked at me pointedly, then turned to Theo and nodded hopefully. Theo produced a handful of the mini-cakes and handed them to the dog one at a time. The dog seemed to be practically starving - it was wolfing down the food it was offered like it hadn't eaten in years.
After Theo had emptied his hands of the cakes, he said, "Sorry, boy - that's all I've got ... you wouldn't like the lollipops, and chocolate is bad for dogs." he then proceeded to scratch the dog behind the ear in a friendly way. The dog leaned into his hand, figuratively lapping up the attention. "See, Draco. He's harmless. Just a stray."
"Just be careful." I muttered, "You never know which animals will bite you 'til it's too late."
The dog glanced at me for a second, but decided to continue ignoring me and returned its attention to the ear-scratching Theo was giving it.
"Watch it doesn't give you fleas." I noted.
The dog glared at me, "No fleas on him." Theo said coolly, "Are there, boy?" he asked. The dog shook his shaggy head, but after a while it seemed to tire of Theo's attention and started to trot off around the side of the Shrieking Shack. Theo watched it, with a puzzled expression, then followed a moment later. "He's gone." he announced.
"Gone where?"
"Disappeared ... run off ... gone." Theo reiterated.
"Eat and run. Nice animal." I noted.
Theo shrugged, "I liked him. He was ... he looked a lot like that thing Cat turned the Boggart into."
I snorted, "Sure ... all stray dogs look alike." I muttered, turning to leave - I had outstayed my interest and the place was old news, now.
* * *
End of chapter 9