Chapter 3: Whimpers of the Forest
Draco pushed his right hand through his blonde hair as he frantically searched the room for any humans. No one... he thought. Where? Where are they? He looked down at the rat. "Scabbers! It's Weasley's bloody rodent! But why are you in my Slytherin dorm?"
The rat responded with a squeak and ran back towards the bathroom.
"C'mere!" yelled Malfoy at Scabbers. He grabbed the rodent and put him under an overturned basket. He placed a book on top of the basket to keep Scabbers from escaping. "I'm going to find out what the bloody hell is going on," Malfoy said to Scabbers. Draco raced down the stairs once again to see if anyone had appeared. Still no one was there. He went into McGonagall's classroom only to find some works in progress; students had left their work in transfiguration. He slowly walked out of the classroom and headed outside.
He jogged towards the greenhouses. He looked to see if anyone was in there. However, he only discovered the sprouts of mandrakes they had recently planted.
He left the greenhouse and approached Hagrid's hut. He looked around to see nothing unusual, except, no one was anywhere to be found. Just then, a terrible scream was emitted from the Forbidden Forest. Draco couldn't determine what to do; he stopped and looked out towards the towering trees. I have to go in there, he thought. Someone could be in trouble-yes someone-finally another person… maybe they aren't all gone… maybe there is someone left…yes someone…Draco looked around to see if there was anything at all he could take with him. Hagrid's dog, Fang, was inside. He snapped a leash on the mutt and headed off.
The forest was roughly a hundred or so meters away. Malfoy knew they were not supposed to enter the forest, but no one was around to enforce rules, so he continued on. I wonder, he thought, why I am not gone, and everyone else is… why was I, of all people, exempt from this-this random-disappearance? Why wasn't Potter? He is the hero around here, always saving the school, and defeating dark lords of evil-
Fang barked and inturrepted Draco's train of thought. The dog whimpered, as they got closer to the forest, Fang became more and more reluctant to continue.
"SUCK IT UP!" yelled Malfoy.