AUTHORS NOTE: Moving right along with the schedule I placed on myself, here's another chapter! I know, exciting, but I have a few questions before you start reading, which perhaps you can answer in any reviews you (might) give. Question 1#: As we get further along into this story, I'm wondering if when we start Harry's second year, should I start a new story? Or just continue to add onto this story, with the only change I make being a small note in the summary that we have entered the second year. Question #2: This story is quickly approaching 1,000 favorites, and we've already surpassed 1,000 follows! I would like to do something special to thank you all, but I'm not sure what. Does anyone have any ideas?
Anyway, thank you all so much for all the reviews, favorites, and follows, especially after my last posted chapter - it really got me back into writing! And I hope you enjoy this next installment.
Chapter Twenty-Five:
Revelations
Regina's POV:
Her early lunch rolled uncomfortably in her stomach as Regina experienced only her second attempt of Floo travel, and she was more than relieved when she finally stepped out of the green flames and into Headmaster Dumbledore's office. She was also a little was proud of the fact that when she stumbled the first few steps out of the fireplace at least she didn't fall flat onto the floor and on her face.
As the Headmaster looked up to greet her, Regina ducked her head; She already knew she did not look well as she should – her eyes were puffy from constant crying, and with a ring of purple underneath them from lack of sleep. Her brown hair – which before had settled beneath her shoulders in soft waves – was now cut just at her chin, choppy and sharply getting shorter as it went towards her neck. She had cut itself last night with a knife from her potion making kit, a very sudden decision.
Blaise's mother had been furious that morning – 'What will people think?!' she had screeched, and so on like that. But Regina didn't care. The night before, when she had been staring in the mirror getting ready for bed, she couldn't stop thinking about her mother and how she would shake her head and say how much her daughter looked like her when she was younger. How relaxing it was for her mother to brush her hair and twist it into different kinds of fashionable buns or braids, saying how nice it looked pulled away from her face.
In a sense, Regina snapped.
She had once read that certain cultures cut their hair in times of disgrace or mourning, to signify their loss – and Regina had mourned so much that in a desperate need to cut the sorrow out of her heart, she had taken in out on her hair instead. She didn't even fully realize what she did till it was all over and she looked down to see the tail of her curly hair clutched in her hand afterwards.
"Welcome back, Miss Winters," said Dumbledore in his cheerful tone. He was sitting at his desk, hands clasped in front of him and looking like someone's kindly grandfather as his eyes twinkled. It made her wince, the way he was looking at her with so much sympathy. Professor Snape was standing a few feet away from him, hands clasped behind his back as he looked over Regina – taking in her mess of hair and sluggish manner – and his thin lips tightened.
As Regina replied to the Headmasters greeting with a mumbled thanks, the flames in the fireplace turned green for a second time and Blaise stepped through, stumbling like she did and knocking into Regina even though she knew that Blaise could exit the Floo flawlessly if he really wanted to.
"Watch it," Blaise hissed under his breath, shooting her a burning glare. He was still angry at her – for what she really wasn't sure. For a sister he never wanted? For his mother, who hated her very existence because it only proved her husband's cheating? Regina wanted to get along with him, wanted to try and be close to one of the only family members she had left, but even that glimmer of hope was growing smaller by the second.
Now all she wanted to do was go back to her room and cuddle up with Cinderella; she hoped the little white cat missed her as much as Regina did.
"Ah, welcome back to you as well, Mr. Zabini," said Dumbledore with an equal amount of cheerfulness. "Please, both of you, take a seat. I'm sorry you couldn't come back two days ago with the other students, and I'm sure you both are ready to see your friends again before dinner, but I wanted to talk with you both a moment." He turned to Regina, who had sat in a chair whose color reminded her of the inside of a pineapple. "First, Miss Winter, I wanted to say I was sorry for your loss. And if you need anyone to talk to, feel free to talk with me or Professor Snape."
"Thank you, sir," Regina said quietly, her toes curling tightly insider her shoes. She always did that when she was trying to hide how upset she was – no one ever looked at her feet. "I'll remember that."
"I hope you do, my child. Secondly, I've been informed that your father is looking for someone to take you in, Miss Winters, since Mr. Zabini is so… busy with his business ventures." If he saw Blaise's grimace or that Regina tensed, Dumbledore ignored them and went on without pause. "He has even asked that we take you in for the summer, but since the school will be closed, I'm afraid that was impossible."
Regina guessed something like that had happened – her father had been angry as he ripped up a letter from the Headmaster just a few days ago, grumbling, "Where else was he supposed to put her?" As if she wasn't sitting just a few down the table from him, eating her morning cereal.
Dumbledore smile brightened. "Well, I received some wonderful news this morning that while your guardianship was originally planned given over to Mrs. Zabini, it seems that your father has changed his mind. Arrangements have been made, and your guardianship has been transferred it over to a close friend to your fathers, and it was made official this morning before your father left for Asia again. I believe you are in the same year as his son, young Draco Malfoy?"
"What?!" blurted out Blaise from his own seat that was the color of a plum, his gaze snapping from Dumbledore to Regina and back again. Regina on the other hand was in shock, her body trembling and her hands clutched tightly together as she looked to her Head of House, trying to get verification if the Headmaster was speaking the truth. When he gave her a barely noticeable nod, she almost broke down and sobbed. Draco Malfoy - while he wasn't the worst of her tormentors, he certainly hadn't tried put to a stop to any of it. Plus, he was best friends with the now seething Blaise, and from what Milli told her, his parents were former Death Eaters. On that point alone, what was her father thinking?
"You must be joking," said Blaise dryly, anger seeping through. "The Malfoys would never -"
"This is not a matter to be joking about, Mr. Zabini," spoke up Snape calmly, though his voice was cold. "And it is not up to you where Miss Winter goes; that is up to your father and the agreement of the Malfoys." He stepped forward, and Blaise looked like he wanted to jump from the chair and hide behind it, but he stayed firmly seated. "If you do not like the arrangement, then I would talk to your own parents instead of arguing with the Headmaster. Is that understood?"
"... Yes, Professor Snape," said Blaise through gritted teeth.
"If you are done with Zabini, Headmaster?"
"Ah, yes. I believe that's all for now, Mr. Zabini. Why don't you go down to your common room and get reacquainted with your friends before dinner time?" suggested the Headmaster. "I would still like to have another word or two with your sister."
"She's not my sister," hissed Blaise, making Regina flinch before he stood and stormed out of the room, the door to the office slamming shut behind him with a bang.
"I sense that you are disappointed, Miss Winters," said Dumbledore after a long moment of silence. "I'm sure that your father has your best interest at heart, placing you with the Malfoys. They have been long-time business partners, after all, and I believe that you are distantly related to them along with Mr. Zabini – on your father's side of course."
Regina nodded, even though she had no idea that the Malfoys knew her father that well. And did that mean she and Draco Malfoy were cousins? Oh gods, the thought of them even being distantly related made her a little sick. "Yes, sir." Maybe she would ask Milli about her heritage after all -
"I'm sure you'll receive a letter from your father fairly soon about this new development – I'm sure he'll want to explain all this himself," said Dumbledore confidently.
'Not likely,' was Regina's immediate thought. Her father had barely said a handful of words to her to after her own mother had died – why would he even send a letter to tell her that she was being sent off to live with strangers?
"But that isn't why I asked you to stay." He took a moment to clear his throat." Miss Winters, I've been told by several professors that they believe you are be bullied by members of your own House." Dumbledore leaned forward, a concerned look in his eyes. "Is this true? Member of the same House should get along – I don't wish for discord among fellow housemates."
Staring back at him with horror, Regina couldn't find the words to answer immediately, as if the words were stopping her from letting the air out of her lungs, so it got stuck there and kept building and building, so much air that it started to hurt. Who had told him? Her gaze snapped towards Snape for a brief moment, and she knew he did. He was trying to help her – but how could this help her?
"No, Headmaster," were the words that came out of her mouth before she had a chance to stop them. "They tease me a little bit, but everything's fine. I swear." 'So please, please believe me,' begged Regina silently. If the girls thought that she told on them, things would only get worse, even if the professors tried to intervene.
Sharing a short look with Dumbledore, Snape spoke up. "Are you sure, Miss Winters? I promise, you will not get in trouble for telling us the truth."
"Its fine, sir," pressed Regina with a shaky smile. "Really."
"Well, then I'm glad to hear it," said Dumbledore with a chuckle, and Regina wanted to let out her breath in relief, let her lungs empty again and stop the pain, but she held it as the Headmaster went on. "I'm sorry to have to press you with this. And I'm sure you must be eager to get back to your friends. Severus, would you escort her back to the Common Rooms?"
"Of course, Headmaster," said Snape with a nod of his head. He stepped forward, standing next to Regina's too bright chair. "Come, Miss Winters."
Standing, Regina followed Snape out of the room, the sad and painful ache in her heart from her mother's too recent death joined by fear of the future in her lungs.
Harry's POV:
Leaning against the wall, Harry glanced down the hall for probably the hundredth time in the last ten minutes before sighing and tilting his head back so that it rested against the cold stone wall. He had been waiting near the Slytherin room since after lunch to see when Regina would get back.
His eyelids started to flicker shut, and Harry shook his head to try and rid himself of his sleepiness. With his rushed plan always in the back of his mind, Harry hadn't been able to get a decent night's sleep in the last couple of days. He just hoped it worked.
Two Days Ago
"I'm sorry; you want me to what?!" hissed Draco, shaking his head afterwards in disbelief. The three had gathered together in a far section of the library to listen to Harry's idea, and it wasn't going very well. "I don't say this often enough, but Potter, you are out of your mind!"
"Oh great, now I want to agree with the Malfoy," growled Milli, arms crossed. Both Slytherins turned to glare at each other with anger before turning together on Harry. "Let me see if I got this straight - you want to send an owl to Malfoy's parents and ask them if they will take in Regina, your friend and mine, who also happens to be one of the Half-Bloods they hate since they are both Death Eaters? Brilliant idea." The last remark dripped with sarcasm.
"Oi, former Death Eaters, Bulstrode," snapped Draco, "They were only there because my grandfather forced them into it for his own agenda. And I wouldn't act so high and might is I were you; weren't your uncles both Death Eaters?"
"Seriously, are you that much of a blonde, Malfoy? They were your uncles too; hell, and more closely related to you then me," shot back Milli.
"Stop," Harry ordered, loud and forcefully, and both the Slytherins snapped their mouth shut. "Before you both start yelling at me again, could someone explain what Death Eaters are?"
Milli gave him a look that clearly asked if he was serious in asking that question, and Draco huffed. "Right, sorry. Forgot you don't know. You see, He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named had followers. People who believed in his ideals, that we should rule over Muggles and Muggleborns, or just wanted power and fame. My parents -" he shot Milli a look as he said this, "were some of the ones that joined not only by fear, but because my grandfather forced them into it because of his beliefs. And I'll be the first to admit, they did bad things, a lot of bad things. But they couldn't escape, especially after I was born. And they are more glad than anyone else that You-Know-Who is gone."
"So, they were part of Voldemort's -" both the Slytherins flinched when Harry said that, "- pack. Alright, that make sense."
"But," Draco went on, "that still doesn't mean they'll want to take in a random Half-Blood just because I ask them to."
"It's the only thing I can think of right now," said Harry regretfully. "Her own father doesn't want her, and her half-brother -" he didn't mention Blaise by name, "- and his mother hate her. They most certainly don't want her, and she doesn't have anywhere else to go."
"Well, I can tell you that Regina's father does know the Malfoys pretty well," admitted Milli, being careful as well not to mention names just yet. "They might take her in if her father ask. But if Draco ask? It's a long shot, more then a long shot. It's such a long shot you can't even see the target anymore."
"I know," said Harry reluctantly. "But really is the only thing I can think of right now. Please, Draco."
There was a long minute of silence, and finally Draco sighed with his own reluctance. "Fine," he bit out. "But you owe me - again. And I can't guarantee anything. You know that, right?" When Harry nodded, Draco huffed and stood. "Looks like I'm writing a letter." He almost walked off, but then paused. "Whose Winter's father?" he asked. "You never told me, and I need to know before I write this letter."
Sharing a glance with Harry, Milli answered. "It's Titus Zabini; Blaise's father."
It took a little more convince after that, but eventually Draco sent off the letter that night. And no one was surprised as much as Draco when the very next afternoon a dark owl swooped down during lunch and deposited a letter on the table, which almost fell in Draco's soup before he caught it out of the air. He shot a look across the room to Harry at the Hufflepuff table before he stuffed it into his robe pocket and excused himself from the table. Harry did the same, and both rushed out of the Great Hall.
Draco tore open the letter without any prompting and scanned its content. His eyes went wide, and then his jaw dropped. "Merlin's pants," he breathed out.
"What, what?" asked Harry anxiously. "What did your parents say?"
Looking up from the letter still clutched tightly in his hands, Draco slowly answered, "They said that they would talk to Zabini's father as soon as possible. They said yes." He looked down again to stare at it another long moment as if he couldn't believe his eyes, and groaned before stuffing the letter in his pocket. "I can't believe they said yes." He gave Harry a look. "This is all your fault."
Now Harry was waiting to see the results - just because Draco's parents said yes and would offer to take Regina in, it didn't mean that that Zabini Sr. would agree to the idea.
Anger stained the air, and Harry almost sneezed, the emotion smelling like hot peppers. The source of the anger was revealed a moment later when Blaise Zabini marched the corner, anger coming off him in waves. Spotting Harry, he stopped and glared at him. "What do you want, Potter?" he spat out.
"Just waiting for a friend," said Harry simply, but that earned him a darker glare and a scoff. "What?"
"The famous Boy-Who-Lived, hanging out with one of the Snakes?" Blaise sneered as he moved on. "What would the papers say?"
"I personally don't care," Harry said with a shrug. He waited until the Slytherin boy had entered his common room before relaxing a little. Even though he'd only had brief interactions with Zabini, he didn't like him. He couldn't see why Regina wanted so hard to get along with him, even if they were related.
A minute later, the smell of strong lemons alerted him to someone else coming down the hall, and Harry perked up when he saw that it was Regina and Snape. He took him a moment to realize the smell was Regina's anxiousness; she looked nervous and afraid. When she finally noticed Harry, her surprise - which was the smell of sugary icing - overtook her other feelings. She almost called out to him, but paused and looked up to Snape first.
To Harry's own surprise, Snape gestured for her to stay where she was before striding over to him, dark eyes flashing. "Should I even ask what you are doing here, Mr. Potter?"
"I'm waiting for a friend," repeated Harry. "For Regina."
"That, I already suspected." Snape glanced towards the Slytherin Common Room before huffing through his large hooked nose. "While I usually don't approve of such friendships outside of Slytherin, it's clear that none of her other house mates are interested in maintaining a relationship." He looked down at Harry. "Do be careful with her, Mr. Potter, or there will be consequences."
"Yes, Professor," Harry answered respectfully.
"At least you're not a Gryffindor," Snape said offhandedly under his breath before turning to leave. "Miss Winters, feel free to join your friend now," he said just loud enough for Regina to hear before sweeping off, leaving the Hufflepuff and Slytherin alone. And as Harry turned to greet his friend, he was surprised to be suddenly ambushed with a surprise tackle hug, which almost knocked him back into the wall.
A small blush erupted across Harry's cheeks. Contact wasn't new to him - he had fought and wrestled with the other children in the clan - but he'd never received a hug from someone other than Elysia or Morgan, and that was rare. Hugs were more personal. "Uh, hey?" he said awkwardly. Did he hug back, or did he just continue to stand there with his arms out at his side?
"Oh, I'm sorry," said Regina, letting go of him and standing back, a blush on her own face. "I shouldn't have been so forward. I just... sorry."
"It's alright," Harry said with a grin, getting a look at her and noticing something new. "Hey, you cut your hair."
"Yeah," said Regina hesitantly, reaching up and pushing back hair that was brushing her cheek, but since it was so short now it simply popped out again and covered her eyes. "It was kind of a last minute decision. It's really bad, I know."
"No, I like it." Harry reached out and brushed some out of her eyes, like his mother use to do after his hair grew out. "Really. It shows off your face."
"Regina!"
Both Harry and Regina were started as Milli Bulstrode came rushing out of the Slytherin Common Room, almost tackling the smaller girl to the ground as she gave her a tight hug. "Oh dear Merlin, you have no idea how happy you're back. I swear you are the only thing that keeps me from knocking those other girls out." She held Regina at arms length to get a better look at her and gasped, eyes wide. "You cut your hair! And you look adorable!"
"Thanks," said Regina with a blush, "and so did you! I guess you couldn't wait for me to come back and do it, huh?"
"What? I just got a little impatient," said Milli with a whinny pout, which earned a laugh from Regina and a held back snort from Harry. He wasn't use to Milli being so relaxed, it was almost unnerving. "So, I don't want to get all serious, but what's going on with Zabini? He just came storming through the Common Room and went straight for Malfoys room like he was about to beat-slash-murder someone."
"Oh. Um... My father decided to transfer my guardianship over to the Malfoys," Regina said quietly, turning her gaze down to the floor. "Dumbledore just told me and Blaise just a little while ago." Tears turned her eyes glassy. "My father didn't even want to tell me herself. Why if they hate me?"
"No, no, no - no crying," said Milli quickly as she pulled Regina back into another embrace, even going far enough to stroke the back of Regina's head like she was more her mother than her best friend. "Who could ever hate you, besides that - " she spat out a slew of curse words that had Regina giving out laugh that was half sob and Harry blinking in surprise, "- brother of yours. Besides, the Malfoys agreed to take you in, I'm sure that means they really want you around and definitely won't hate you. And if they do, I'll punch them in the face."
"I'm sure you will," said Regina with another laugh, wiping at her eyes. "Thank you, Milli. I feel a little bit better now."
"Excellent - by the way, your crazy cat Cinderella has been tearing the room apart since you left. I think she might miss you."
"Oh, my poor baby!."
"But we'll look on her later, it's almost supper time; lets get going so we can get a good seat."
"Right." Turning to Harry and smiling, Regina asked, "Maybe we'll get together after supper and just... hang out?"
Harry opened his mouth to say yes, but paused as a thought suddenly came to him. "Well, why don't you both sit with me and my friends at the Hufflepuff table during supper and we can hang out then? What?" he asked hesitantly as both Milli and Regina shared a look. "Are you not allowed to sit with us at the Hufflepuff table?"
"Well, no," said Regina slowly. "Its not that. It's just..."
"It's just that it never happens. Ever," said Milli sharply, crossing her arms. "Students stick to their own table, no question. Have you ever seen a student sit at a different table before?"
"Um, no?" said Harry after a moments thought, realizing that he hadn't. "But really, is it such a horrible thing? I thought the Headmaster encouraged friendship between other Houses?"
"That still doesn't mean people do it a lot, or if they do it's not something you mention to everyone," Milli said with a snort. "Do you think I would go around telling people I had friends in Hufflepuff? Or worse, Gryffindor? I would be shunned and possibly pushed into the lake so that the squid could eat me."
"Come on," insisted Harry. "I'm sure it won't be that bad."
"...We'll see you in the Great Hall, Potter, from our table," said Milli before dragging Regina down the hall towards the Great Hall, with the former throwing an apologetic smile over her shoulder and managing a wave goodbye before they both disappeared, leaving Harry alone in the hallway again.
But before he could run off, he Slytherin Common Room door slid open again, and Harry was overwhelmed with the smell of hot peppers again, telling him that it was Blaise Zabini again; though he wasn't alone this time, accompanied by the sharp scent of ginger spice.
"Your parents can't be serious, Malfoy!" hissed Blaise to Draco, and Harry stepped out of sight, easing into an alcove in the wall. "Taking in that Mud-blood!" He spat out the last word like it was poison. "It goes against out Pure-Blood beliefs!"
"I wouldn't be so quick to call her Mud-Blood; you just admitted to me that she's your sister," shot back Draco as they wandered away from the Slytherin Common Room. "And apparently, we're also distant cousins, since both you and Regina are related to my family."
"She is not my sister," snarled Blaise. "She's the product of my father's sleeping with another women, a whore, and betraying my mother - she shouldn't even exist."
"Well what do you want me to do, Zabini?" asked Draco with a huff. "Do you want me to tell my parents to change their minds? Because you should know as well as I do that it won't happen. They agreed to this arrangement without my consent."
The corners of Harry's lips twitched up into an amused smile. Well, that wasn't a total lie. All Draco did was bring up Regina's current situation to his parents, mostly due to Harry's pushing. He would have had no idea if they would agree to take her in or not, and the Malfoys certainly didn't ask for their son's permission when they agreed to take in Titus Zabini's daughter.
"You must be able to make them change their minds before the end of the school year," insisted Blaise, and Harry could tell that they were getting closer to passing him. And if they were going to pass him, they would be able to see him easily. And he didn't think Blaise would be happy to see him again, especially after hearing all that. Harry crouched down and closed his eyes.
"Arguing with my parents has never ended well," replied Draco. "I've known that for a very long time. And besides, maybe you should be talking to your own father instead of me."
"My father is back in China," answered Blaise, and he actually sounded a little upset. "He's never answered my letters while he was there - what the hell is a dog doing here?"
Both Blaise and Draco paused in front of the alcove, starring in confusion at where Harry was sitting in his wolf form, his tongue hanging out his mouth and his tail wagging. He yipped, sitting up and going to Draco's side, pushing his head under his hand. Hesitantly, Draco scratched the top of his head, whispering a small, almost unheard, "Harry?" I
n answer, Harry bumped his head against Draco's hand again.
"Wait - do you know this dog?" Blaise questioned, giving Harry an uneasy stare.
"Um, yeah," Draco responded uncertainly. "This is... um... the groundskeepers new dog. Phantom. He's gotten really... attached to me."
Huh. Harry licked Draco's hand, delighted when Draco yelped and pulled his hand away. He liked that name. He would have to tell Hagrid about this cover story, it would give him an alibi if anyone else saw him, like Regina had before.
"I didn't know dogs were even allowed in the castle," remarked Blaise, reaching for Harry to pet him, the mixed scent of anger and confusion from before replaced with slight fear. Noticing, Harry growled, briefly bearing his sharp teeth. The Slytherin snatched his hand back instantly. "And isn't he a little too... big?"
"Like that other beast of that half-giant's isn't big?" replied Draco. "Besides, he's probably... part wolf or something. My uncle had a dog like that. Really loyal or something like that." Draco sighed. "Listen, I'm heading off to return this dumb dog - and no, I'm not talking to my parents about your sister," he added as Blaise opened his mouth again. "I won't get them to change their mind. But maybe you want to consider getting along with your sister instead of repeatedly attacking her."
Blaise sputtered. "How can you - you know what she is! Our parents have taught us to hate her kind!"
"And can't we try and be better than them?" shot back Draco. "Just... just think about that, alright?" He patted his leg as he started forward. "Come on, Phantom."
Trotting after Draco, the Slytherin waited till they were far away from his Common Room before he hissed, "What the hell, Potter?"
Shifting back into his human form from one step to another, Harry shrugged. "Sorry, I was going to get caught, and I didn't want him to catch me still hanging around after hearing all that. Nice cover story, though. I like the name."
Rolling his eyes, Draco explained as they continued walking, "I think my father must have read me a story with the same when I was a child, it must have stuck with me. It does fit you though, sneaking around the place like a ghost. Let me guess, you were waiting for Winters; she and Blaise just got back from their father's, after all."
"Was waiting for her - she went off with Milli after we talked a bit." Harry nodded back towards the corridor they had just left. "So, I'm guessing by what I heard of that conversation that Blaise knows about your parents offer?"
"Yeah, and if you couldn't tell he wasn't happy about it," grumbled Draco. "He would kill me if he found out that I suggested this whole thing to my parents. Although I'm just as surprised as he is that my parents agreed to it." He glanced over a Harry. "So, does this mean that Winters know about it too, then?"
Harry nodded. "She may not be happy about it, either. She probably thinks you're going to terrorize her."
With a snort, Draco shook her head. "No way. I barely know her, save for the fact that I might be distantly related to her - which could be said for about half of the Purebloods in this school. And even if I didn't like her, I'm not going to bother bully her. Especially when the other girls have been doing such a bang up job of it so far."
"So what are you going to do about Blaise then?"
"He'll get over it," Draco answered dismissively. "And if not, it doesn't mean I'm suddenly going to stop being friends with him. I know - I know that you think otherwise," he pushed on as Harry made a face. "But unfortunately, you're only getting to see the bad side of him. He's usually a pretty good mate."
"If you say so," grumbled Harry before he perked up, tilting his head towards the end of the hall. "Huh."
"What?"
"I think there's something going on at the Great Hall entrance," answered Harry after another moment of listening. "There's a lot of chatter."
"You sure it's not just talk from inside the Great Hall?" Draco asked with a raised eyebrow.
"No," Harry said, shaking his head. "I don't think so. It sounds... off." When Draco gave him a confused look, he went on to say, "I don't really understand it, but sounds bounce off the stone walls here, and the bigger the area, the more a sound changes. Right now it doesn't have much of an echo - if that's the right word for it - which means that they're in a smaller space, like the hallway. And the talk sounds... agitated. So something must be bothering them."
"Huh. It's like having a human super listening device," Draco remarked with a grin, a tease in his voice that made Harry smile a little. "I need to remember that for the future events." He quickened his steps, waving for Harry to follow after him. "Come on, let's see if what you is say is going on is true."