Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall ended up leading Hermione out of the bathroom to get her checked out at the hospital wing, despite her many protests. When the school nurse had told her she probably was suffering from shock, she'd gotten an analytical look on her face and seemingly agreed with the nurse after studying her own symptoms.
Harry had chuckled at Draco, saying that only logic would make Hermione Granger see reason.
Draco noticed his godfather observing the damage to the bathroom, a calculating look in his eyes. Severus was also awkwardly leaning on one of his legs, almost as if he was in pain. That reminded Draco. Where had his godfather been if he wasn't looking for the troll or guiding his snakes back to the dungeons?
Headmaster Dumbledore waved his hand absentmindedly and the bathroom magically fixed itself. Harry blinked in surprise when he saw that his glasses which had been broken for the fifth time that year also got repaired.
Draco sighed, thinking that he and Hermione would need to convince their friend to go shopping during the Yule holidays, for new glasses and clothes, or maybe invest in eye repair. It was worth looking into, anything to stop Voldemort. After Harry had been looked over by Madam Pomfrey after their talk with Dumbledore, the mediwitch had gotten Harry to take nutritional potions for the past few months, meaning he was finally growing to be his regular size. Fucking Dursleys.
"A word in my office, perhaps?" the Headmaster suggested, his hands folded behind his back, his yellow and purple robes clashing as he looked at the two boys. "Quirinus and Argus will come to clean up the troll, they know how to deal with it. Speaking of, Severus, have you seen professor Quirrell after he passed out in the great hall?"
His godfather frowned and rubbed his leg again. Something was definitely up with those two. Draco was starting have an inkling feeling that the mysterious disappearance of his D.A.D.A. teacher during first year had something to do with Harry and friends. It would've been great if Hermione had actually told him what had happened, so he knew how to deal with it. She did say he was after the Philosopher's Stone, but never really mentioned why the Professor disappeared so suddenly in the end. Well, too late now. All he could do was wait and see.
During the walk to the Headmaster's office Draco and Deandra were discussing how he would explain his sudden knowledge of spells which were considered to be O.W.L. level at least.
Harry seemed restless as well, the events of the evening finally registering. It was no easy feat for two eleven-year-olds to go out and face a troll. Perhaps they all could use a little detour to the Hospital Wing for some calming draught afterwards?
Once they entered the Headmaster's office, as per usual they were offered some sort of muggle candy. Figuring out that he probably needed some sugar after the events of the evening, Draco gladly accepted and started chewing away as the adults started asking questions.
Harry followed suit and gladly took some more when the Headmaster's eyes twinkled at him in amusement before he started explaining why they hadn't joined the feast.
Dumbledore at least looked remorseful at that. "I'm sorry Harry, my boy. All Hallow's Eve has always been celebrated in the Wizarding World, even more so after the fall of Lord Voldemort. Perhaps, we should have been more considerate on how you would feel about the matter and offered you to spend the night with your godfather."
Harry gracefully thanked the headmaster for his consideration and continued his story with Daphne barging in with the rest of Slytherin House, the Slytherin girl immediately realising that Hermione was missing.
Snape pinched his nose and sighed. "I should have gone after her and Mr. Weasley when I saw them arguing as she left the Great Hall with those desserts. We will have to talk to her to see what has transpired when they left, but I think it is safe to assume they got into some sort of argument since Miss Granger's robes were stained with treacle tart and apple pie, Headmaster," he explained.
Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling behind his half moon glasses as he now turned to Draco. "Is there anything you would like to add, Mr. Malfoy? I must say, it was quite impressive seeing which spells you have used tonight. Are you sure your thirst for knowledge shouldn't have placed you in Ravenclaw?"
"All will be well, little dragon," Deandra encouraged him as she helped him strengthen his occlumency. Draco also did his best to not meet the Headmaster's eyes too often, knowing it would give him easier access to prod his mind.
"That is a lot of praise of which I'm not worthy, Headmaster," Draco shrugged nonchalantly. "I learned the summoning charm over the summer because I thought it would be beneficial to summon objects to me when I don't feel like getting them, as we are not allowed to call upon our house elves here at Hogwarts."
There. That was that spell solved he hoped. It wasn't a complete lie after all. He had learned the spell more out of efficiency than out of necessity the first time. No one had to know that he'd been using it for four years rather than four months.
His godfather pinched his nose again, frowning, yet he thought he saw a hint of a smirk. His godfather clearly amused and frustrated by his statement. Perhaps also a sign that he was believing what Draco was saying? "Are you telling me, Draco, that you studied up on an O.W.L. level spell for Merlin knows how long this summer just so you could be lazy?"
"Well, you could call it lazy, godfather. I would call it being efficient and resourceful," he smirked, Harry chuckling next to him.
Professor Dumbledore laughed heartily. "The efficiency of laziness has often been underestimated, Mr. Malfoy," he stated, actually amused at Draco's reasoning. "In fact, I do believe that the wizard who developed the summoning charm did so for exactly that reason. There is simply too much time wasted getting things which could easily fly into your hand with the wave of your wand. What I am wondering is why and how you made the door to the girl's bathroom fly off of its hinges?"
Oh. Right. He probably cast that Bombarda spell silently. Perhaps he should have waited for Hogwarts to open that door for him as well?
"Once we realised Hermione was in danger, I just wanted to get to her as fast as possible, sir. I don't even know how I did it, it was almost as if my magic just responded." Ok. That was a lie. But people were known to do accidental magic when stressed, especially children. This wouldn't be too strange of him to do.
Dumbledore nodded, leaning back in his chair with a thoughtful expression on his face.
Severus continued the interrogation. "That shielding spell you used, Draco, had some specific magical layering to it. Were you weaving Malfoy family magic into it unintentionally?"
Harry's eyes widened, Draco silently thanking him for the distraction he provided. "Family magic? You used your family magic to protect Hermione? That's impressive, mate. I thought most heirs didn't even start learning it until they had completed their O.W.L.s."
"Yes, very impressive indeed, Harry. A wonderful piece of magic in this case, I must say," Dumbledore agreed, joining in on the conversation again. "A shielding spell like that is very strong and very good for a two-on-two duel. But also, very advanced magic for an 11-year-old."
Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling again and Draco could feel the Headmaster trying to get a read on him, skimming his thoughts on the surface. After living with Voldemort and his cronies for years, Draco was more than able to withstand such a Legilimens probe. Thank Merlin the Headmaster wasn't actually trying to enter his deeper thoughts or even realising that Draco might be an accomplished Occlumence at the age of 11. Deandra aided him, shoving memories of him reading the Malfoy family grimoire as a little boy forward, giving truth to the partial lie he was going to tell.
"My mother told me how some death eaters were still after Harry," Draco said quietly, casting his eyes down, making sure the eye contact with the headmaster was broken. "So, I thought, if we were friends, it would be in my and his best interest to learn an exceptional shielding charm until help could arise. Honestly, I didn't even think it would work. Maybe I was just so panicked and scared that I overdid it a little, pouring Malfoy family magic into it unconsciously…"
"Very resourceful and clever," the Headmaster said, seemingly satisfied with his answer and the thoughts he'd skimmed through. "It is good to see you would go out of your way to protect yourself and your friends. It's been a while since I have seen these traits in a Slytherin like yourself."
"You did well, Draco," Deandra approved. "Everything you said is plausible. They have no reason to suspect anything."
The four of them discussed some more about what had happened that night, but once the conversation was over, Severus led his two snakes to the Hospital Wing, pride filling him, even though he would never tell anyone. Draco was finally stepping out of Lucius' shadow, being more confident and cleverer than his father ever was at that age. And Potter. Well. He was so much like Lily that it scared him, honestly. It also made him wonder why the boy wasn't sorted into Gryffindor. He had her passion and courage, and perhaps even his father's tendency for utterly stupid boldness.
As soon as the boys arrived at the Hospital Wing to check up on Hermione, as well as let Madam Pomfrey have a look at them, Hermione's mother ran to them and hugged them fiercely. She put her hands on each boy's cheek and kissed them on top of their head, thanking them sincerely. "Thank you for thinking of Mione and getting to her before anything could happen to her," she whispered.
- The Slytherin dorms, 8th of November 1991 –
Harry had been nervous all week for the first quidditch match of the year. Gryffindor would be playing against Slytherin and the boys had been practising a lot to make sure that they would win. Draco had assured his friend multiple times that he had nothing to worry about as they walked up to their dorm to get their brooms for one last practice session.
When Draco opened the door, he noticed that the diary his mother had given him had a small silver hue around it, indicating she'd written to him. When he read what she'd written, he raised his eyebrows.
Draco darling, my cousin and that elf of yours are up to something. Please be a dear and find out what exactly.
Draco showed it to Harry who shrugged, and they decided it would be best to just call Dobby over, asking him what was going on.
"Master Draco and Mister Harry Potter sir," the elf bowed right after he was summoned into the boys' dorm.
Dobby had been spending his time at the Black Estate now that Draco was away at school. He was helping Sirius and the goblins clean out Grimmauld Place after Kreacher had let it break down in ruins since the death of Walburga Black. The old elf had gotten a scolding from Narcissa about his elf duties to house Black, and had been told to remove the portrait of his mistress and place it in his quarters instead. Ever since, the place had been looking better according to his mother, but a lot of dark items needed to be cleared out before it was inhabitable for an 11-year-old boy. That's where the goblins came in.
After a week of Draco had received a simple sentence from the Director. Another one down. Well, that was three gone, four more to go, including Harry. Ragnok had agreed that the scar had way more dark magic in it than just the leftovers of an unforgivable curse. The goblin healers and their curse breakers were secretly working on a way to remove it from the Boy Who Lived, but until then, all they could do was wait and try and find the other three Horcruxes. Or two? He wasn't sure about Nagini being a Horcrux yet. He didn't even have a clue on where to find the others.
Dobby looked up expectantly, waiting for his master to explain why he was at Hogwarts.
"Dobby," Draco began, "have you and Lord Black been up to something?"
The elf actually grinned. "Yes, master. Dobby and Paddy Foot have been pranking, and Dobby enjoys it very much, master," the small elf giggled, clasping his hands together.
"Pranking who exactly, Dobby?" Harry asked, dumbfounded.
Dobby looked outright evil when he spat out menacingly: "the Dursleys."
After Madam Bones had found out that Harry had been unlawfully placed at the Dursleys, all she could do was give them a fine for misconduct, since they had never been expected to take care of the boy in the first place. She did threaten them in case they ever came close to Harry again and said she would be keeping an eye on them and any future magical children which might be born into their family. Uncle Vernon had bristled and sputtered at that, saying that no such freakishness or nonsense would be happening in his family. All Madam Bones had done was smile wickedly.
"Why Mr. Dursley, a man of your status must have gotten proper schooling, correct? As you may recall from your biology classes, DNA is a tricky thing. Seems like the late Lady Potter had magical ancestors, making you wife for all intents and purposes, a squib. I will be back, if any other magical children or grandchildren are born," Amelia Bones quipped.
The director of the D.M.L.E. had apparated away after that bit of information as Aunt Petunia looked in horror at Dudley. Uncle Vernon had opted to just faint on the spot. Draco and Harry both wished they'd been there when Sirius wrote about that particular event to them.
Dobby then started going over what the two of them had come up with, and that even Draco's aunt Andromeda had come with some suggestions.
First, they had cursed Petunia Dursley's garden. Anything she grew, would wither away a few days before it would start blooming, making her garden the laughingstock of Privet Drive. In addition, the weeds she pulled out every day would magically come back the next day, making her start all over again. Every. Single. Day.
Second, after talking to the owls in the neighbourhood, Uncle Vernon had to wash his car windows every morning because their faeces covered almost his whole car. Not something that was appreciated by the Director at Grunnings.
Thirdly, Dudley had developed a slight stutter whenever he encountered something "unnatural" after Hagrid had given him a pig's tail back on Harry's birthday. Seeing as he was only a child, and therefore most likely only doing what his parents told him to, Dobby and Sirius had decided to take it easy on him. However, Dudley was still a bully, so whenever he and his gang were chasing some other child, a large pink spectral pig would show up, freaking out Dudley and making him scream for his life, gripping his bottom trying to feel if the tail was back, hopefully pissing his pants as well.
Last but not least, the elf and Harry's godfather had discovered the existence of Aunt Marge. As a famous bulldog breeder, the two thought of nothing better than to make sure none of the female dogs ever got pregnant. Marge had been pulling her hair out since all the vets she'd gone to claimed that none of her dogs were imponent. She was simply unlucky.
"If master, or Harry Potter sir, ever have any good pranking ideas, Dobby and Paddy Foot would love to hear them," the elf said, his ears flapping around in happiness.
Hermione had been waiting for Harry and Draco for about five minutes as she was planning on cheering them on during their last practice. When they didn't come back to the Common Room immediately, she decided to check up on them. As she stuck her head around the door to their dorm, she found her boys rolling around in laughter, wheezing as Dobby seemed to be telling stories of him and Sirius' antics. A smile ghosted her lips as she watched them, shaking her head at their shenanigans. Leaning against the door frame as she watched them, happiness welling within her that she had such amazing friends and wasn't alone anymore.