"Mr and Mrs Malfoy… I thought you would know the school is closed these days," Minerva said coolly, eyeing the couple standing in the snow in front of the entrance doors.
"Yes," Mrs Malfoy said, her tone even icier. "That is why we thought this a prudent time to collect our son's belongings."
Her husband just shuffled his feet and avoided Minerva's eyes.
Minerva raised her eyebrows. "I thought Draco's belongings had been sent to you by his Head of House."
"We did receive some items from Professor Slughorn, but many rather valuable things seem to have gone missing," Mrs Malfoy said. "We do not, of course, assume this to be anything but an oversight, so we decided to spare you the trouble of searching Draco's old dormitory and came here to take care of it ourselves."
"And what… items… have gone missing, may I ask?" Minerva said. "If they involve dark magic, and such objects have indeed been found, you will understand that we do not return them. They have been destroyed."
For a moment it looked like Narcissa Malfoy was seriously considering whether it would be worth a lifetime sentence in Azkaban to curse Minerva, but then she took a deep breath and forced a painful smile. "Of course not, Headmistress. We are merely speaking of some personal items. Malfoy heirlooms that we do not wish to see in the wrong hands."
Her husband cleared his throat and said, with a voice that sounded like he had almost forgotten how to use it: "Surely you cannot object to us having a look around his old room. As I understand it, the students were instructed to bring all their personal belongings with them, so there is no risk of us… violating anyone's privacy."
Minerva breathed in sharply as her excuse for not letting them into the castle was countered. "Fine," she said, stepping aside. "But I will accompany you."
"That is very kind of you," Mrs Malfoy said. "But we do not wish to impose on your… valuable time."
Minerva gave her a look and turned around in the direction of the dungeons. "Follow me."
…
Once in the Slytherin common room, Minerva immediately walked over to retrieve the lost and found box and handed it over to the couple. They hardly glanced at it before they gave it back.
"We do not believe the objects we are looking for have been found," Mrs Malfoy said. "Please show us to Draco's old dormitory."
Pressing her lips together, Minerva led them to the right room. As Head of Gryffindor she had of course not known where exactly the students from other Houses slept, but once she had become Headmistress, she had helped the other teachers restoring the castle, making the common rooms liveable again, and sorting out belongings of the students who had left Hogwarts. In the dormitory occupied by Draco Malfoy and his friends they had indeed found a great share of dark objects, which had been disposed of.
However, Mr and Mrs Malfoy seemed confident that they would still find what they were looking for. They walked past the first bed and then Mr Malfoy took out his wand, which he moved quickly upwards. A floor board jumped to the side, revealing a space beneath, filled by a small chest.
Mrs Malfoy glanced over at Minerva, almost smiling. "Don't ever assume that you will be able to find a thing if a Malfoy really wished to hide it from you," she said.
"I wonder why he thought it necessary to take such measures," Minerva said, crossing her arms.
"Obviously because what is in this box, is none of your business," Mrs Malfoy answered, gestured for her husband to follow and headed back to the Slytherin common room.
"I'm afraid it is my business," Minerva said, catching up with them in a few long strides. "This box has been kept hidden in my school. I will need to check the contents so I know if its presence put the students at risk or can have any lingering effects."
But both Malfoys ignored her as they made their way out into the dungeons. They might have gotten away, had Lucius not been dive-bombed by an angrily squeaking little dragon.
"Watch out!" Minerva called as she saw it coming.
"Molly, stop that," The Fat Friar scolded as he rushed towards them. "I'm sorry, Headmistress," he said. "I don't know what got into her. She just suddenly took off and… oh…"
He was staring at the box that Mr Malfoy had dropped as he tried to ward off Molly's second attack. The lid had fallen off as it hit the floor, revealing the contents: a small, slightly mouldy, softly whimpering plush troll.
Mrs Malfoy dove at the box and tried to get the lid back on, but the troll was already trying to crawl out, reaching up as if begging for a hug. It wrapped its stuffed, fluffy arms around her wrist and no matter how hard she shook her arm, she could not get it off.
Her husband came to her aid, almost managing to hide a grin as he pried the creature off and stuffed it back into the box. "You were the one who gave him the silly thing," he hissed at her, took her hand and dragged her off.
Minerva stared at their backs, still finding it difficult to believe what she had just seen. The Malfoys had just travelled all the way to Hogwarts for their 18-year-old's cuddly troll. It had not been a cursed heirloom or a weapon after all. Suddenly she was glad no one had found it earlier. Young Draco probably would have been mortified if people knew. And Minerva herself had been prying, just because she had been prejudiced. Again. Exactly like she had been with Sybill.
It really was time to go talk to her. And to find the plush tabby cat with its tartan bow, which Sybill had once given Minerva as a joke-gift. Seeing the Malfoys' troll somehow made Minerva want to see the cat again right away, but as it had always reminded her too strongly of her time with Sybill, she had put it away in a box not long after their break-up.
She could look for it tonight. First she would go up to the North Tower. She really needed to check on Sybill, anyway. See if she was alright after the encounter with the dragon had shaken her so much.
But when she knocked on the trapdoor, all was quiet. She went up to the classroom, thinking that perhaps Sybill was taking a nap, but there was no one there. In fact, it looked like there had been a small fight or perhaps another dragon hunt. Minerva called Sybill's and Winky's names a few times, but no answer came.
Disappointed, she returned downstairs. Surely Sybill had not actually left Hogwarts… And yet, if Minerva was right about her dracophobia, she couldn't really blame her. Minerva had after all not shown any kind of support and had simply gone through with her plans.
Still, she kept hoping to find Sybill or at least Winky in the kitchen. But there, too, all was quiet.