Hello everybody, I hope life is treating you well. I'm sorry for the short hiatus, but my baby unfortunately passed away so I needed some time to mourn in peace. I'm doing better, but it's still been very hard. I hope you enjoy this longer-than-usual chapter in compensation.
This week, there's two more important notices.
One, the winning pair of the poll ended up being Zutara, from Avatar: The Last Airbender. If you like that ship, be on the lookout for the commemorative one-shot on AO3! When I reach 500 followers I'll be doing a Dramione one, so please don't be discouraged.
Two, I'm going back to work on Monday. This means I probably won't be able to upload as frequently as I do now, but I will try my best to stick with the weekly schedule. Thank you all for being so supportive and awesome!
"What else did you take? What else have you got!? Tell me the truth or, I swear, I shall run you through with this knife! How did you get into my vault!?"
"It's a copy, I swear!"
"Control yourself, Draco. What would Severus think?"
"CRUCIO!"
"I once thought we might be friends."
"I will carve you up like the filthy animal you are!"
"Expelliarmus!"
"Obliviate."
Tap tap tap.
Soft, barely-there touches on his tear-streaked cheek awoke him from his tortuous sleep. His brain, still foggy from being disturbed so abruptly, took a second to process his surroundings: a wardrobe, a night table, a chair… and a bed, which he was currently sleeping on, untucked and uncovered.
He strenuously stretched in an effort to make the fatigue go away before the distinct feeling of glass brushed against the skin of his hand. There, he found one of his vials of Hangover potion, the ones he always summoned in the morning. This time, however, it was already there.
Sleep mingled with confusion and drunkenness as he scratched his head, trying his best to remember at what time exactly he had gone to bed, considering he spent all last week sleeping in the living room. In fact, that morning had been the very first time he'd even looked at the place. It was the basic Hogwarts style, very Slytherin-like and unremarkable. Just like him.
Draco groaned in exasperation. That simple mystery got his paranoia going, the frustratingly familiar feeling of being at somebody else's mercy back in full force. Best case scenario, he'd floated himself to bed in an exemplary — yet not new — display of drunken magic. Worst case? Someone, or something, had moved him there.
The young Malfoy heir shuddered, unwilling to even acknowledge the possibility. Instead, he unfastened the vial, promptly swallowed his liquid will to live and resolutely marched to the bathroom in order to get a much needed shower. He needed to hurry to the kitchens, for it was his turn to get the basket that morning.
Letting the water cascade around him as he lathered his blonde locks, his restless mind drifted away towards other topics. He had double Herbology later that morning and, by the looks of the angry black clouds outside the windows, Autumn was beginning in full force.
Would Lilith need a matching coat for the cold?
Another bland school day had passed. He'd got the same amount of stares and scornful glances as always, as well as being shoved harshly by other students. However, instead of retaliating, he just let it all happen without a peep. He didn't give a rat's ass about hate or revenge anymore. He'd had enough of it for three lifetimes.
It was 8 o'clock in the evening on that fateful Monday night. Blaise and Theo had gone back to bed early after tiring themselves with the very first Charms essay of the year, begrudgingly leaving Draco and Lilith alone for the rest of the night.
Not long after they'd left, he reached out to grab his usual poison. When he sat down in front of the fire, ready to have the first gulp, Lilith rushed from her usual spot and jumped onto his lap. The surprise almost made him drop the glass but he managed to catch it as it fell, barely spilling a couple drops. He could take that loss.
"Hey! This is new," he cooed, staring into her big brown eyes. Her pupils were completely dilated, with a playful spark in them he'd never seen before. She was standing on his knees, staring back at him.
He tried to pat her on the head, but she swiftly ducked in order to prevent him from making contact. Draco deflated, greatly thrown off from her attitude.
"Gee, thanks," he huffed in disappointment, only for Lilith to make a movement akin to rolling her eyes. Draco, who was already used to her coldness, simply let her be. He knew she was more likely to come around if he did not press, but still hoped she were at least as friendly as she was with Theo.
He decided that ignoring her would be the best course of action, so he slowly lifted his glass to his lips. He never was able to, though, for Lilith quickly knocked the glass down with one of her paws, causing it to shatter on the carpeted floor. Then, without a moment's delay, she hopped down and ran to hide underneath her seat, giving Draco what he felt to be the most judgmental look he'd ever received from a cat.
"Bloody hell."
Draco lifted his wand to quickly vanish the mess and put the broken shards together. That glass would be lost, but he'd make sure to keep an eye out for her mischief in the future.
"I swear to Merlin, if I didn't know better I'd say you were doing that on purpose" he growled, pouring himself another hearty serving. Lilith blinked, staring intently at the alcohol falling from the bottle.
His new attempt to drink was now being interrupted by the portrait letting three people through. He quickly vanished the forbidden substance, already aware of who the only other person capable of being let in by the Wise Ones was: a severely worried-looking Professor Flitwick.
"Good evening, Mr. Malfoy" he greeted Draco, nervously fumbling with the wand on his hands.
"Good evening, Professor Flitwick," he said back as he stood up from his seat, taking a quick look at the two intruders in surprise. Letting his mask fall instantaneously back into place, he lifted a single eyebrow at his old rivals. "Potter. Weasley."
They were both wearing navy-blue trench coats: the mark of their position as Aurors on their first year of training. Potter held an expression of nervous determination, while Weasley, silent and red as a beet, looked ready to explode at any time.
"We are sorry for interrupting," the Charms master coughed, clearly unsettled by the whole situation. "Aurors Potter and Weasley are here on behalf of the Ministry. They'd like to ask some questions."
Draco narrowed his eyes at the pair. He knew he'd be under strict surveillance from the Ministry, but he assumed they'd take more than a week to come. Furthermore, the fact that those two were the ones to interrogate him made his blood boil. He'd been found guilty, and he was paying his penance. Was it necessary for them to make it worse?
"No problem, Professor" he managed to grit through his teeth before the coldness of Occlumency enveloped his brain and gave him some of his control back. "I'm ready whenever they are."
"Good" the man was able to mutter before going right back the way he came from in the blink of an eye. It seemed that not even Flitwick was willing to oversee his unfair punishment. Perfect.
He had no time to utter a single word before the deafening sound of Ronald Weasly's voice pierced his ears.
"Incarcerous!"
Thick ropes were lunged towards him with such force that he was blasted to the floor as they coiled around his body, twisting and turning until he was left almost gasping for air.
"Goddammit Ron" Harry cursed, displeased with his best friend's attitude. "You promised you wouldn't do anything stupid if I let you come."
"Binding the ferret is anything but stupid if you ask me" he replied, still aiming his wand at the powerless Draco laying on the floor. Harry sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he muttered something intelligible under his breath.
"Great," Draco thought, "the Wonder Duo is back with its usual ineptitude." They really were nothing without Hermione.
"Alright, you wanker, what did you do to Hermione?" Ron questioned him, barely containing his anger.
Draco went pale.
"You think I did something to her?" he replied incredulously. The idiots had no idea of how far away from the truth they were.
"I know you did. Where did your minions take her!?"
"What in the name of Morgana are you talking about?" Draco asked, feeling his Occlumency slip.
"Don't play dumb, Malfoy, it doesn't suit you" Ron spat, sparks flying out of the tip of his wand.
Draco truly began to feel unease at the sight of uncontrolled magic. Weasley was volatile, and he didn't put past the fact that he would Avada him if it weren't illegal. At that moment, though, he wasn't sure the whole legality question mattered to him at all.
"I swear I know nothing," he said calmly, trying to appease the brute.
Crash! Weasley aimed his wand at the cupboard, making glasses and plates shatter in a thousand pieces.
"Don't give me that shit! Where is Hermione? WHERE IS MY MOM?"
"Petrificus Totalus."
Ron was left mid-shout, his face contorted in rage. Meanwhile, Harry sighed once more, giving his best friend a sad look.
"I'm sorry, Malfoy. He hasn't been himself since…"
"No hard feelings, Potter," Draco shrugged, feeling a mix of relief and frustration at being saved by the bespectacled menace for the third time in less than a year.
Harry let Malfoy go, offering his hand to help him up. After Draco stood, he gestured towards the table. There they sat, staring at each other uncomfortably in silence for what seemed to be centuries. Finally, Potter spoke.
"Look, there's been some… strange happenings lately. The Auror Department is very busy trying to solve this case, and you were labeled as a possible suspect."
"Nothing new under the sun," Draco huffed, letting his head fall against his open palm in an almost unbothered manner.
"Where were you yesterday evening at approximately 7 p.m?"
"I was in this very room, spending time with Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott. We've taken to having all our meals here, so you may ask the elf called Blinky to confirm this to you. Blaise and Theo went back to the Eighth Year Dorms early today though, so you can find them there."
"Right… and have you seen anything strange happening at the Castle lately?" Harry asked, furrowing his brows in thought.
"Not really. I go to class and come back here. We went to Hogsmeade on the weekend, but saw nothing weird. We went to buy a bed for my pet, so you can call the owner of Edelgard's Fine Fabrics to confirm as well." He'd rather lay everything on the table than being accused of withholding information.
"Have you heard anything from Marcus Flint lately?"
Draco flinched, surprised at hearing the name. "No," he spat in anger. "I haven't contacted any of them since the end of the war."
Them. The Death Eaters that got away. The reminders of malice, of whom he'd pretended to be in order to save his mother from the grasp of a lunatic. Them, the ones who'd sworn revenge on blood traitors and muggleborns alike. Them, the ones who appeared in his dreams to hunt him down for betraying the Dark Lord.
Harry drummed his fingers on the table as Draco chased his nightmares away. After the longest minute of his life, he stood up and released him of his bindings.
"I don't think you're guilty, Malfoy" Potter said, looking at him with determination in his eyes. "If you see anything weird, please give me a call."
He proceeded to cast a Wingardium Leviosa at Weasley to float his petrified form out of the room, barely sparing a glance at the cat who had been staring at him with the saddest eyes.