Black Truth

Chapter Five: Matching Auras

"You look three-fourths dead," Lucius stated as Snape made his way into the room at seven in the morning.

"Thanks for caring," Snape shot back spitefully. "Seeing as you're the reason I and forty other people are like this right now." He winced as he put weight on muscles that were loath to do anything. "And why in Merlin's name didn't you keep the fire going?"

Lucius shrugged in the darkness (he hadn't minded the cold of the dungeon room) as his eyes wandered in the direction of the fireplace. There was a slight shift in the air of the room and flames leapt up from nothing, flooding the room with light.

"I hate when you do that," Snape muttered, slowly making his way to the couch.

"It's as natural to me as your wand is to you," Lucius commented casually.

"And Draco's going to learn how to do that?" Snape eased his Crucio-battered body onto the plush cushions of the couch. "I'm getting too old for this."

Lucius's eyebrows rose. "And yet I'm older than you." Switching subjects he continued, "I take it he was slightly displeased."

"Furious, seething, fire and brimstone and all that. You name it, he was ten times worse. Not a fun evening."

"Sounds like it." A pause. "You're in no shape to teach today."

"Have to. Albus has me teaching both Potions and Defense this year. Too many classes to just cancel them all."

"I'll cover them for you. I need something to do anyway." Lucius smirked. "I'm sure I can think of something to do in your Defense classes on the subject of the Dark Arts."

"Emphases on Defense, Lucius."

"The elder Malfoy raised an eyebrow. "Ruin my fun will you?"

"That's my job," Snape muttered, his body slipping into sleep.

"One of many," Lucius remarked before getting up. He needed to have a discussion with the Headmaster.

"Harry, mate. You need to wake up sooner or later." Ron's voice argued with the lump that was a sleepy Harry.

"Don't wanna," Harry mumbled into his pillow.

"Yeah, I wouldn't either, but you have to."

"Ron, it's Monday."

"And you have Potions first thing, I know. We do this every week."

Harry had to admit that Ron had a point.

"Harry, if you don't get up I'm going to have to resort to drastic measures-"

Harry groaned as he remembered the cascade of water that had been used to drag him from his bed last week.

"-and you never know, maybe Snape will want to cancel class today too."

Nothing.

"Sorry, mate you asked for it."

And Harry yelped as cold water flooded down on top of him.

Draco also was having a hard time getting his own self down to breakfast. His was not a sleep problem, no he had gotten up as he always did, and had gone through his normal morning routine... his was a different sort of problem. A dread kind of problem. He had awoken to his second Aspectus, which had reminded him that this would be a horrible day. All night he was sure that the rumor mill of Hogwarts had been churning, and now at breakfast the finest gossip Hogwarts could offer would be handed to him on a silver platter. Well, not literally, but close enough. Draco entertained the thought of just not going to breakfast and appearing in his godfather's class for Potions, the one place where he knew he could find some amount of sympathy this morning. But he was a Malfoy, and Malfoys did not care what people thought of them... sometimes he wished he could change some of these rules.

"Draco, get up. You will not be late," his father's voice sounded on the other side of the painting that was the door.

"Coming father," Draco murmured, and crossed his room to the door. Opening it, he found his father waiting for him as per the normal morning routine... and for the first time Draco saw his father's aura.

Lucius saw his son blink in surprise and smirked. "Not what one expects is it?"

Father and son began walking towards the entrance to the Forbidden Forest as they did every morning.

"Not really... it's red."

"Imagine my chagrin, waking up to find it's not just any red, Draco. It's Gryffindor red."

"Ouch."

Lucius nodded. "But it's even more curious to see how closely Gryffindor red resembles blood red."

Draco frowned, thinking. He blinked in surprise when he realized his father was right. The color of the Lions was close to a bloody red. Strange.

"It's not as bad as some," Lucius commented. "I'd rather have red than... well your godfather's for instance... or the Dark Lord's."

"Why?"

"Well, your godfather's is pure white. Not a very evil aura that's for sure, and one that doesn't fit his lifestyle at all. And Voldemort's... is... pink."

Draco sputtered in surprise. "What?"

"Not just any pink either, neon pink."

Draco's steps wanted to drag themselves towards the doors to the Great Hall, but Draco was a Malfoy and Malfoys did not ever drag their footsteps, so he was stuck walking slowly but purposefully. But Malfoy rules be damned, he stopped walking as he saw who waited for him at those doors.

"Crabbe, Goyle. What are you doing here?"

"Waiting for you."

Blunt as ever Crabbe, Draco thought, but he couldn't help feeling a bit apprehensive. They might not have been the smartest brains in the school, but they had been his childhood friends and Draco was certain that, two on one, he would lose against them.

"Look, Draco, there's a lot of stuff being said about you," Goyle started. "But we don't see a difference."

Draco blinked. Then smirked. "Good one, Goyle," he spoke. Yes, they might not have been the brightest of the bunch, but Crabbe and Goyle were as loyal as any Gryffindors once they had placed their loyalties. "Shall we go eat?"

Hushed whispers followed Draco as he made his way through the Great Hall, walking in the self-assured style only a Malfoy knew how to accomplish, completely ignoring what was being said. Behind him, Crabbe and Goyle glared at anyone who looked too long in the wrong way at Draco, and they had their work cut out for them it seemed.

Draco wasn't paying attention to all that though, he was scanning the Slytherin tables, noticing the different colored auras. Reds, blues, greens, even a silver, but no black. None. Nothing close to black. Well, there went his first choice of life partner. Not that Draco was looking, mind you, he was just curious.

Taking his customary seat in-between Crabbe and Goyle, Draco caught sight of the staff table and noted with disappointment that Snape wasn't there. He would have enjoyed seeing the professor surrounded by a seemingly pure aura.

His eyes swept over the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables. Still no black. Tons of yellow, a few different shades of red, even some weird mix of purple and green, but no black. Maybe his soul mate wasn't at Hogwarts?

Deciding, at least for the moment, that his soul mate must not be at Hogwarts since there were only a few chairs left (two of these being the chairs across from an apple-red-aura-Granger), Draco turned his attention back to his breakfast. The Slytherins were obviously split in their decisions about him, he noticed. One part thought it was a cool idea to have a student with the ability to spear anyone when angry, even if it was with a feather. After all, it was an interesting kind of power. The other group focused on the fact that it wasn't pure wizard blood. The two halves of the Slytherin definition, it seemed. Luckily, most of his normal group of compatriots (such as Blaise, Pansy, and Nott) were in the first group.

Breakfast was a meal that always went by too fast in Draco's opinion. Especially on a Monday, and this Monday was no different. But as Draco stood to make his way down to the dungeons for Potions a flicker of a particular aura caught his eye. Ebony black. A perfect duplicate of his own aura. Draco's eyes widened as he registered who that aura belonged to, and blinked. The world instantly switched from glowy to normal, all auras disappearing, leaving only that person sitting at the Gryffindor table. Potter. Harry Potter. He had only seen the aura for a second before his Aspectus had stopped, but... was it Potter's? Draco suddenly didn't like this situation. He didn't like this at all.