Draco followed hurriedly behind Snape as they made their way through the dark and twisting corridors of Hogwarts. He was to be meeting with Professor Dumbledore, who would be deciding whether or not it was safe for him to return to the school.
Upon entering Dumbledore's office, Draco imagined he was feeling much the same as his Father had felt on the day of his trial. The occupants of the portraits that hung disheveled on the walls were looking at him with open contempt, much the same as the jurors had looked upon his Father.
Snape directed him to a plush chair and told him the headmaster would be along in a moment, then leaving Draco alone in the dimly lit office.
As he sat he could catch pieces of the hushed conversations the portraits were having.
"Should have never let him in the castle..." commented an old man, shaking his head sadly.
"Don't worry Dumbledore'll straighten him out," remarked a woman with hair so long it tickled the frame of her portrait.
"That's right, Dumbledore'll straighten him out he will, have 'em taken the first train out o' here," Said an angry voice of a man, clearly no longer trying to keep his volume to a whisper.
Draco's heart fluttered nervously around in his chest. He began trying to deter his attention away from the portraits and began concentrating on one of the random oddities Professor Dumbledore kept on display in his office.
He was however, finding it increasingly hard as the portraits continued their spiteful ramblings. Though they were speaking in quite tones, it was almost as though they wanted him to hear what they were saying, and with each second that passed, the voices became louder and louder until he could not even hear to think.
Just as he was contemplating jumping out of the nearest window, Dumbledore entered the room wearing robes of scarlet, a matching hat, and that sparkle in his eye that always gave off the air that he was up to something.
"I'm not so sure I understand the confession that you made on the train." He began, sitting on the edge of his claw footed desk."I am told that you confessed to being under your Father's control, yet there is nothing in your behavior to suggest it. If anything I think your behavior has improved miraculously over the course of the summer."
Dumbledore paused, looking intently at Draco before he continued, "Therefore I feel it is safe to assume that allowing you to return to Hogwarts is no more a threat than allowing any of our other students to return."
"However, I think that you, as well as I, are curious to find the reasoning for your confession on the train, so I have enlisted the help of Miss. Hermione Granger, whose knowledge of spells far surpasses anything these old eyes have ever seen. You will meet with her twice a week to research this matter, and I feel your time with her will not be wasted."
"Now, Mr. Malfoy, I believe we have a feast to attend, and if you'll excuse me, I'd like to get my speech over with soon, I feel like I haven't eaten in centuries."
Dumbledore was gone in a faint whisper flash of scarlet red, treading through the corridors at top speeds that even Draco, in all of his young years could not reach.
He followed as quickly as he could, and by the time he reached the doors to the great hall he was sure it would be months before he could catch his breath again.
Nervously, he pushed open the doors to the great hall to find every eye on him. The hall was deafening quiet, and he resumed his straight haughty posture as he made his way over to the Slytherin table. Although there were only about seven to return, he could feel all of their eyes burning into him. He could hear the squeaking of the wooden benches as they all leaned nearer to their friends and a loud buzz filled the hall, one he was undoubtedly the cause of.
The buzzing finally died down and then came to a complete stop as Dumbledore stood to give the traditional welcoming speech.
"Welcome all, to what I am sure will be another fine year at Hogwarts." Everyone began clapping and Dumbledore raised his right hand to silence the room.
"The staff and I are very pleased to introduce a few new programs to the school we have been working on throughout the summer, but first I'd like to introduce your new defense against the dark arts teacher, Mrs. Bilynda Dill."
A pretty woman wearing robes of deep brown stood. She had big green eyes and shoulder-length curly brown hair. When compared to Professor Umbridge's frog like appearance, Draco found it would be much better to look at this woman during class. He might even actually pay attention, which is something he never had to do because he had learned the Dark Arts from his Father at a very young age and was fully capable of defending himself against them.
The hall clapped and Bilynda gave a small bow before settling back down in her chair.
"Now, I'm sure you've all noticed a change in your school books, I know this because I received a letter from everyone over the summer inquiring about them; and from some, several frantic letters asking why all of them were not needed, and if they could purchase the books anyhow," His gaze landed on Hermione Granger, and Draco watched as she blushed deeply. He then realized she was quite pretty when she did this. She had grown up a lot; her once bushy hair was now merely wavy. She had developed in more ways than one. Draco shook these thoughts from his mind as he diverted himself to the once again speaking Dumbledore.
"The books that were on your list were decoys. You see, some of our students were believed to have ties to Lord Voldemort."
The hall gasped at the mention of his name; many worried glances were tossed in Draco's direction as he tried hard to make his face remain neutral.
We could not afford to have him informed that we were implementing the use of Dark Arts this year. The books were charmed, those who had no ties to him would see them for what they really were, and those that did are probably still carrying around "Ancient Spells and how they are used today."
"Which brings me to my next point, in addition to learning Defense against the Dark Arts this year, you will also be studying the Dark Arts. I must say, the task of finding someone suitable enough for the job was nearly impossible. Therefore, I am happy to announce that I will be teaching the class."
The hall clapped and cheered loudly, before being silenced again by Dumbledore.
"It is also my sad duty to remind you all that the Magical world is on the brink of a war, and it goes without saying that each of us, at some point or another will somehow be affected by it. It is with this in mind that I stress to you again this year how vital I believe it is for us to becoming united, as one."
"I understand that last year, uniting ourselves was made very difficult by a person who sought to drive us even farther apart. But that person is gone, and now there is nothing in our way to keep us from accomplishing that goal."
"Now on a lighter note, the staff and I have planned a series of new events to take place this year, in the hopes to bring us all together, and diverting our attention, if only for a while, about the sad events sometimes occurring in the magical world.
" I of course, enjoy keeping everything secret, so I will not be telling you what these plans are. You can, however, check the notice boards in your common room for the dates and times of these events.
"Now, with that said and out of the way, I believe we have a feast to tackle, so everyone tuck in."
At those words the tables blossomed with every type of food imaginable, and every eye that had been watching Draco, averted their attention to the hot and steaming food that had appeared before them.
The feast, was as always delicious, and as everyone pushed themselves to take a few last bites of the things they had piled their plates with, the familiar sleepy feeling that usually occurred after the feast set in, and again, Dumbledore rose to say a few last words, before sending them all to their dormitories.
"Prefects, be informed that after you have led your fellow classmates to their dorms, you are to return here for a meeting.
"Filch of course would like me to remind you that no magic is allowed in the halls between classes, and I'm sure a whole list of items have been banned from the school, so please check the list on his office door to ensure you are not found in possession of any these offensive items."
"If you must carry them around, and are caught, please note that the items become mine, and as I usually enjoy them so much, I doubt you will ever see them again. I hope you all have a good start of term tomorrow, and will remember to check your notice boards for upcoming events."
"Oh, and of course, the forbidden forest is of course forbidden, you are not to enter it under any circumstance. Good night."
And with that, the students rose to their feet to make their way to their common rooms. Draco looked around at the Slytherin table. Four out of the seven people that had been sitting their were first years.
They followed him out of the hall and aside from telling the students the password to the Slytherin chamber, nothing else was said.
After the first years had all safely made their way inside, he made his way back to the great hall where the prefects meeting was to be held. He took his place back at the Slytherin table and waited for the other's to arrive. After five minutes of waiting, the others returned, chatting animatedly to each other before noticing Draco, and almost stopped dead in their tracks.
They were all clearly surprised to see that he was still a prefect. They exchanged looks and went their separate ways, each sitting on the benches of their own house table. He could feel the heat of their stares and the hiss of their whispers. Luckily he didn't have to endure this for long, as Dumbledore had now entered the Great Hall once again. He stood in front of the Gryffindor table and motioned towards the room of teenagers.
"If you all don't mind, I think we should all be seated at one table, I find it's easier to address you all that way."
Nervously Draco and the rest of the prefects rose from the comforts of their house tables, and assembled at the Gryffindor table in the middle of the hall, where Dumbledore now sat, having conjured a purple chair.
"Very well then. First I would like to say that as prefects it is mandatory that you all start setting examples for the other students. This year's mission is to bring about inter house unity, and I would like to see it start right here tonight, among you all. So please, every one stand and shake hands with one another."
Reluctantly, and nervously on Draco's part, everyone stood and began shaking hands. Hermione approached Draco first, followed by Ron, and then the rest of the prefects, some of whose hands shook so badly, they could hardly keep them still long enough to shake his hand.
"Very good, now, I'm sure you have all received your new prefect badges?" Everyone nodded and he continued, "I'm equally sure you are all wondering what they are for?" Again everyone nodded, some exchanging puzzled looks.
"Well I'm sure some of you heard my speech tonight on the new programs we have planned for this new school year?" Dumbledore waited as a few of the prefects nodded and the rest looked confused.
"Well to those of you that were listening, you will remember that I said I was keeping everything secret. Only, the staff and I will require a little help on your part. So when the time comes for you to meet with us, your badges will grow warm and vibrate. This is enhanced by a protean charm, which I don't think many of you are familiar with, besides those who were in the D.A. last year."
"Another fine idea that I recall Miss. Granger used was one that would expose a sneak, and as I am very serious about keeping our plans this year secret, I'm afraid I've done the same to your badges."
"You eight are the only ones who will know my plans, and if you tell another, your badge will shine a very bright red. If you are found to be a sneak, you will be punished.
"Your punishment is one I plan to keep secret as well. I'm leaving it to your imaginations to decide what you think it may be."
Some people around the table gave involuntary shudders, others looked horribly frightened.
"Very well." Said Dumbledore, who had a slight look of amusement on his face, "You are free to return to your dorms, Good night."
Everyone rose and mulled around for a moment, their separate ways back to their dormitories.
Draco could hardly wait to reach the Slytherin chamber. His eyes were heavy with sleepiness, and his body longed for his four-poster bed. His thoughts were interrupted as the hand of Hermione Granger landed on his shoulder.
"Malfoy," she said, with a certain tone of softness in her voice. He didn't know why she was talking to him as he was an actual person, because as he turned to face her, he visualized every selfish and foolish thing he had done to her. He wasn't a person. He was a monster. She had never deserved any of that, and he knew that now.
"Tomorrow, meet me in the library. We have some research to do." She watched him nod silently and turned around to rejoin Ron, who was giving him the worst look he had gotten in a long time. He walked out of the great hall, relishing the idea that she had treated him kindly, like someone that mattered.
He reached the boys dorm in a very tired state. It felt as though he had floated the whole way there, and as he climbed into his warm bed he immediately fell into a disturbed sleep, in which his Father haunted his dreams.
