A body lies beneath the covers of an emperor-sized bed adorned with black and green sheets, and a silver and gold comforter. Said body is restless, tossing and turning in the overly large bed, mumbling sleepily as it tries to regain some peace in its rest. Suddenly, the room darkens, an oddity given it's already night time and not a single light is on, and almost every facet of the room, from the hardwood floor, to the large black dresser and mirror adorned with gold and other types of jewelry on the far right of the room around ten meters from the bed, to the much smaller dresser only as big as the bed itself positioned to the left, and even the large chandelier in the middle of the ceiling, are all covered in extreme darkness. A figure creeps up from the shadows, a mysterious being, tall, with a white mask that covers all but its eyes and its mouth that is full of sharp teeth and stained with blood. The being blends in with the shadows and moves swiftly, causing the chandelier in the middle of the room to sway, as it stands or…floats at the foot of the bed, staring at the body that lies beneath the cover. By now, the body is up and awake, eyes wide open, heart palpitating, and breath heavy, as one Blaise Zabini lies in his bed, trying desperately to figure out why this…Demon is here and what it wants.
The Demon's eyes glow red and it smiles widely, showing off its sharpened teeth and accentuating the blood that sits at the edges of its mouth, as if it just bit into something with implications that Blaise doesn't wish to think about. The dark-skinned boy gulps in fear as he watches the demon open its mouth, blood dripping from the open orifice, and make perhaps the scariest sound that Blaise could ever think of, a sound that will forever carve this memory into the young boy's mind as the most terrifying moment of his life, it is the sound of Blaise's best mate, Draco Malfoy.
"Zabini…" It starts, alerting him greatly because Draco almost never called him by his last name unless he was particularly angry. "I know you betrayed me." What? How? No! He hadn't! He hasn't! Blaise opens his mouth to protest, but finds his throat dry and his voice mute. In an instant, the demon extends what appear to be a couple hundred thin appendages, razor sharp…tendrils that wrap around Blaise's person and lift him high into the air. "What? Nothing to say? Demon got your tongue?" The eldritch abomination with Draco's voice taunts him, and in that moment, it feels like the restriction on his voice suddenly lifts.
"I…never…" He manages to spit out through the choking grasp of the demon's appendages. Suddenly and swiftly, he is brought near to the demon, face to face, only inches away from death. Still all he sees is darkness, a white mask, and sharp teeth dripping with blood.
"Maybe not out here." The demon gestures, almost confusing Blaise with its assertion. "But in here." The demon then raises a dark, shadowy hand and almost puts its finger through the dark-skinned boy's chest, in the exact place where his heart lies. "And in here." He then does the same to the dead center of Blaise's forehead. The demon grins widely once more. "And as they say, it's what's in the heart," the fiend stops to lick its lips and raise its hand into the air slightly, at face level of its victim, "and it's the thought that counts." As Blaise shivers in fear, an evil and maniacal chuckle emanates from the demon, who apparently finds itself hilarious. "Do better, Zabini." It suddenly ceases its laughter and commands in a serious tone. "Or there will be no next time." The demon then motions with its hand and the dark-skinned boy feels his neck snap, as he sits up in a frenzy, having awakened from his nightmare. Eyes wide open, and breathing heavily to the point of almost hyperventilating, Blaise Zabini can only utter one phrase to sum up his predicament.
"Bloody hell…"
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Draco Malfoy sits in his seat on the Hogwarts express, happy to be returning to the kingdom he built in the Slytherin house. After saying his emotional goodbyes to his parents, mostly his mother, Draco calmly made his way onto the train and found himself a compartment alongside his best mates: Blaise Zabini, and Theodore Nott. Almost instantly, Draco uses his Legimency, courtesy of his readings, his…experiments in the Forest, and his Aunt's tutoring, and immediately he regrets it. Grimacing, he turns away from his two friends, contorting his face into a frown as he greets them.
"Draco." Acknowledges the dark-skinned boy, and Draco takes this opportunity to pounce.
"Blaise." He starts normally, before raising his eyebrow. "Sleep well, I take it?" Blaise's eyes widen and he opens his mouth to speak, but he can't find the words. He closes it and gathers himself, choosing his next words wisely.
"Mate…what the hell, is that you?" Blaise cannot help but to ask, wondering if his friend is haunting him on purpose. Draco shakes his head and sneers.
"You think if I could invade dreams, I'd waste it on you, Zabini?" The platinum-blond haired boy draws attention back to the dream. Blaise, still on his feet as he hasn't had time to sit yet, almost freezes in contemplation.
"No…I suppose not." There's a bit of silence, as Draco gives him a smug look, while Nott turns his head between the two, confused. "But then how—?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Draco answers, with a wide grin. He then switches expressions, and clears his throat. "You know, usually when you dream about another man for the entire summer, one would assume…things." The dark-skinned boy opens his mouth to protest, and quite harshly at that, but no sounds comes out. 'Dammit Draco!' He curses the terror of a boy mentally. "And no offense, mate, but I'd have to drop you, if that were the case." Draco starts, just barely keeping the smile from his face. "Not that I have anything against…your kind." And there it is. Blaise can't help but to hang his head at his friend's juvenile 'joke'. And it only gets worse, when the third of their trio of friends, continues to look between the two in confusion.
"Blaise, you…dream about Draco?" Blaise snaps his head towards the quieter of his friends.
"No. Yes. It's—he's taking it out of context!" Blaise all but yells at his friend. Draco only shakes his head.
"Did you, or did you not dream about me for weeks on end?" Blaise furrows his brow as he tries to think of an answer.
"I did, but it's not—"
"Well there you go then, Nott, you have your answer!" Draco answers gleefully, happy to embarrass his best mate whenever he can.
"That's not how it—" Blaise's protests fall upon death ears.
"Every day? For weeks on end?" Questions Nott, eyes wide open. Again, Draco shakes his head.
"Yep, unfortunately we have to accept that Zabini here is a fai—" before he can finish, Nott interrupts, in a rare moment of assertion, finishing his thought.
"I thought I was the only one." This causes both of his friends to falter and Blaise to glance back at the quiet member of their group, with discerning eyes.
"Wh-what?" Draco questions, not having found anything of the sort in his mental probe— Suddenly, Nott smirks, his entire demeanor changing.
"Gotcha." And all three boys burst out laughing. The whole mood changes and the tension melts as a tone of glee and joy takes over the train compartment. It takes some time to settle down, but eventually they do, taking their seats next to each other. "But seriously, what's this about you dre-" Blaise waves him off.
"It's not what it sounds like. It's less Draco and more of a…demon, I suppose? One with a hundred razor sharp arms and a white mask for a face." He explains. "The only thing it shares with Malfoy here, is its terrifying appearance and his grating voice." He half-teases. "And he knows that, he's just playing it up for giggles."
"And what a giggle it was." Draco confirms with a smirk. The quiet boy still isn't quite sure what's going on, but he can decipher that it's nothing serious, so he answers with a shrug. Seeing his chance, Blaise pounces.
"So," The dark-skinned boy starts, changing the subject and hopefully moving on from the embarrassment, "outside of Malfoy's shenanigans, what did you two do over the summer? Besides the usual of course." Blaise asks, as any good friend would.
"Nothing much." Comes the meek answer from Nott, which is to be expected. "Just some research on magic items and how…" The quiet boy begins almost mumbling, his words inaudible and indecipherable by all but his good friends.
"And you, Draco? Since you seem so well informed on my doings, I can only assume you had some of your own?" Blaise sits back in his seat, getting comfortable. "A girl, perhaps?" Draco raises an eyebrow.
"A girl? A girl. What makes you think—?"
"There's something different about you, mate. A glow." He explains, cutting Draco off, much to both of his friends' surprise. "A dark, evil glow, of course, but a glow nonetheless, and according to my mother, that kind of glow can only be caused by a girl." Draco sneers.
"Your mum, huh." He starts. "Your mum is about as mad as—"
"I'll bother you not to insult my mum, Malfoy." Blaise says pointedly, in a rare moment of defiance. Draco waves it off.
"I'm not saying anything that isn't a fact, mate." He answers dismissively. "And so you know, it's not a girl. It's a woman." He almost mutters the last part, as his eyes become glossy, and he stares into the ether. His Aunt was…is something else. She's vicious, ruthless, evil, torturous, well-versed in dark magic, and beautiful in her own right. If only they weren't related…
"Bloody hell, mate, you're absolutely smitten!" Blaise exclaims, shaking him from his stupor. Draco can't even disagree entirely. Oh woe is him with the perfect Aunt.
