FicWad

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter Universe and all the characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
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"So many rumors these days, don't you think so too, Greengrass?" Tracey heard a voice call out which she quickly recognized to be from Theodore Nott causing her to cringe and stiffen a bit at the unpleasant prospect of Daphne and herself having to talk to him.
She looked up from her Witch Weekly magazine as Nott seated himself in an armchair opposite from them, taking on a nonchalant pose as he focused on Daphne not even taking the smallest of efforts to acknowledge her existence.
Theodore had short spiky hair with a figure that was long and a bit stringy, but had become much more confident and arrogant in the time in which Malfoy had gone silent, using the connections he had always maintained in the background and this opportunity to come forth as the new 'leader' of their house.
The fact that his father was now in Azkaban didn't seem to bother him in the least. And maybe with good reason as there had already been a mass outbreak in the past, he was probably just waiting for another one.
She and Daphne had managed to steer away from much of the on goings, up until this point as the drifting rumors had gained enough volume to be heard for digging people like Nott. Who find it necessary to rectify such things and take it upon themselves to address the problem.
"The rumor mill never stops, Nott, at least not at Hogwarts." Daphne said from her left already having laid down her book as she replied, looking much like herself; not all that happy to be conversing with him.
"Indeed, they never do, do they?" Nott questioned more to himself than her as he didn't wait for Daphne's answer and continued. "And they never have been all that boring either, right?"
"They fluctuate in proportion and credibility, yes." Daphne answered simply.
Nott grinned a bit and shifted a bit in his seat, crossing his legs while putting his arms on the armrests. Taking on an air of superiority. "Lately there have been even more interesting ones than those from the past years, especially those surrounding Harry Potter."
Daphne shrugged indifferently, but Tracey knew it rather to be out of suspicion to his inquiring. "Really? Well I guess people get more creative over time."
"Precisely, the thing is; they don't even sound all that far fetched despite their absurdity this time. Forget fighting off one hundred Dementors, killing a Basilisk, leading some sort of defense group, and things like actually competing in the Triwizard tournament in a fair way; he could never do any of those things anyway." Nott said listing off various examples, likely irking her friend with each word he said.
"Well I'm sorry to say that I'm not that much in touch with others Nott, pray do tell what kind of rumors seem to be bothering you." Daphne said in a tone that was borderline sarcastic, her face set in a frown that had unknowingly come across her face throughout his telling.
"Ah yes, they are about the upcoming masquerade; wonderful idea by the way, but they say that you and Potter volunteered…together to be the representatives and dance instructors, absurd! Don't you think so? As if you; one of our high standing and Pureblooded witches would ever consent to work together with him, right?" He asked laughing at the prospect.
They remained silent throughout his laughter until it faded and he abruptly turned serious again, the smile falling from his face faster than a wizard without a broom. "I mean the lessons were predetermined, I myself too am paired up with that airhead Lavender Brown, but I'm really starting to have my doubts about this particular rumor though, for you appear to be quite friendly with Potter during our lessons. Please do reassure my feelings by telling me this to be untrue."
"I guess I could but then I would be flat out lying to you, confusing you even more in the end with all the conflicting images and rumors around us." Daphne answered sounding not all that friendly despite her smile.
Nott face took on an expression of pity at her answer, which even Crabbe and Goyle could identify as fake. "They are true then? How horrible, did Potter do something to you? Did he threaten, assault or corner you in any way? He is quite prone to psychotic outbursts after all."
Tracey saw the tips of Daphne's fingers turn white at the pressure she was exerting on the book she held. "Thank you for your concern, Nott, but such incidents did not occur, I find working with Potter quite pleasant and as such deemed him fit for the jobs surrounding the party, having a partner in the opposite house would also serve well for the invitations, communications, and organizing."
"Really? Well at least half of those reasons make sense, but you genuinely liking to work with Potter is quite strange however." Nott said feigning to be in deep thought as he put a hand to his chin.
"I too didn't think too much of Potter at the beginning but that changed after some time, maybe you should also give it a chance with Brown, Nott. The snake which cannot cast its skin has to die, as well as the minds which are prevented from changing their opinions."
"A beautiful metaphor, Greengrass, but I would rather not." He said looking affronted. "I however, see that your opinion is steadfast. At least, it is for now."
Daphne nodded mutely, both her and Daphne believing the conversation done and over, only to be disappointed as Nott continued.
"But returning to the topic of the masquerade, I noticed something equally strange." He said as he adjusted his robes a bit smoothing out invisible wrinkles.
"I noticed that the invitations in the Slytherin house are seemingly finished while I have yet to receive my invite, however I am a patient man and can understand any problems and delays that may occur, which explain my reasons for keeping quiet until now." He explained to them in a forgiving tone and giving a smile that had a foul look to it.
Daphne gave an cold apologetic smile that didn't show much compassion. "No mistakes have been made, Nott. You are simply not invited to the party."
"Oh? How so?" He questioned sitting up a little more straight in attention.
"I wouldn't know, Nott, maybe it has something to do with your background. Horace is quite picky with anyone he chooses to have further contact with." Daphne spoke shrugging as she answering.
Nott frowned at the implication, but was quick to speak again. "I see, however we could likely work our way around this by having you take me to the p-"
"-Nobody wants to take you to the party, save yourself from falling by not taking the leap." A new voice said interrupting Nott, and taking the words from Tracey's mouth before she had the chance of uttering them.
Nott's left eye twitched at the remark, sliding focus to see Astoria enter his view after which he gave that foul smile again, watching her seat herself to Tracey's right on the couch.
"Ah, the youngest Greengrass, how nice of you to join our conversation, maybe you could help me convince your sister to see the best choice as to whom should be escorting her to the masquerade." He drawled arrogantly, ignoring her earlier remark entirely.
Astoria crossed her legs and put her fingers to her temple, taking on a pose of thought. "Oh? Who are you thinking about then? Can't be you of course, since we are looking for the best."
"Your little sister is quite straightforward, Greengrass, overly so, maybe you should make her aware of this, lest she end up in unfortunate situations." Nott said sounding to be very nearly threatening the both of them, as he turned back to Daphne, only the ghost of a smile left on his face.
"Astoria, be a little more polite." Daphne responded blandly, not looking away from Nott as she spoke.
"Sorry Mr. Nott, I'm still a bit young so I speak my thoughts rather quickly." Astoria apologized in an overly sweet voice and smile.
Nott didn't look all that satisfied with the apology but continued. "No matter, we all make…mistakes."
"But back to the original topic; Daphne Greengrass, I will allow you to accompany me to the upcoming masquerade, I expect you to have a fitting dress to harmonize with my attire." He said uncrossing his legs and smiling in what was probably an enchanting smile to him.
"A real shame, Nott, for she already has a date." Tracey said being happy to shove it in his face, already knowing whom Daphne was going with.
"I see." was all Nott responded with, taking a small moment to glance condescendingly at her before turning back to Daphne. "Tell me, Greengrass…who is the lucky man?"
"I would rather keep my date a mystery, Nott, you see he's quite busy and secretive with pretty much anything he does, it will likely please him to do what I can in that regard. Although I do thank you for the idea of matching attires; it should serve to deliver a clear message as to whom your with." Daphne responded managing to sound somewhat pleasant.
"I see. A shame for all of us, really." He said in a sigh, standing up and straightening his robes a bit before walking away from them. "Come see me should you ever.. change your mind, good night."
They didn't say anything in return and waited until he had walked away.
Astoria was first to respond in a disgusted voice. "Ergh, he has become even more obnoxious than Malfoy, his slipperiness has increased tenfold , a snake isn't even the appropriate animal for him anymore, a slug would fit him a lot more, too bad he isn't as slow though."
"Malfoy is not the only one who has changed, yes. Nott is still very active in his new found position." Daphne said from her left, looking at the cover of her book.
Tracey silently agreed with her, things had changed a lot compared to their previous years in which Malfoy used to parade through the hallways pestering younger students as he went, and spreading rumors of Potter as he lounged in the common room with multiple Slytherins always hanging around him.
Malfoy had relinquished the rights and advantages of being a prefect and had stopping parading, talking, pestering and boasting. Even silently stepping down from being the patriarch in the house, opting to spend his time outside the common room to stay merlin knows where or by staring broodingly into the fireplace in deep thought, anxiety being etched on his face.
She had followed him while Daphne had gone after Potter, but she had come back with little results unlike Daphne. Tracey had crept some distance behind him all the way to the seventh floor only to lose him after he had sped up his pace. Leaving her puzzled with an empty hallway after she had caught up to his trail.
Tracey hadn't taken much opportunities after that; she feared that Malfoy might have known that she had been following him, she couldn't tell from his behavior but it had probably been the better thing to do, giving him less suspicion that it was her or that he had been followed at all in the first place.
She wasn't giving up though, Daphne might not believe Malfoy to be capable of much but Tracey definitely felt uncomfortable with how much he had changed and how he was acting these days. Sure his father might have been put away in Azkaban for the time being, but she didn´t believe that to be the reason he underwent such changes. No, Malfoy was under pressure by something, and it weighed very heavily on him.
She was going to find out what.
"What was that about, Daphne? You and Nott never talked much, why is he suddenly interested in going to the masquerade with you?" Astoria asked turning to look at her sister.
Daphne sighed from the whole ordeal. "Probably just another way to show the house that he is the one to keep everyone in line, that he is the greatest and the best now; not that Malfoy was but you get what I mean."
Tracey nodded silently and looked at the door he had left through. "I don't think Nott has given up though."
"Probably not. He likely has a good idea as to whom I'm going with, we better stay on our guard for whatever it is he will do next." Daphne said putting her book away into her bag before turning toward her younger sister. "You too, Astoria, don't provoke him, stay clear of trouble if you can."
"Tsch, we can stomp him whenever we want, just like Longbottom did." The youngster replied crossing her arms grumpily, referring to the incident of Longbottom having hit Nott squarely in the face. "Anyway who is your date for the party, Daphne? You better tell him of the incoming nuisance that is Theodore Nott."
"I will tell him, Astoria, in fact very soon." Daphne said standing up. "It probably won't make much difference anymore with people connecting the dots but do try not to shout it from the highest tower in Hogwarts."
"Yeah, yeah, big deal just spill it already." Astoria said impatiently.
"I'm going with Harry." Daphne replied offhandedly.
Her sister's head quickly snapped up to Daphne from her seated position, a silence briefly holding as they looked at each other. "Oh..those dots. Well it's both logical and strange at the same time."
Daphne smiled a bit, glad that her sister didn't explode. "Good that saves us some time then."
"Do our parents know?" Astoria asked curiously with a bit of anxiety.
"They do since a few days ago, their reply should arrive soon." Daphne answered.
Astoria fell into thought, her eyes fixated on the floor between them. "This is going to change quite some things for us, isn't it?"
"It already has, I'll tell you more when I can." Daphne said giving an encouraging smile.
Tracey looked at Daphne in the moment in which silence hovered over them. Daphne had already spoken to her in detail about what had transpired between her and Potter during their meeting the day before, explaining that he had given her a few but seemingly very important words which would help her family convince Dumbledore to join his resistance while he asked for some kind of dark book made by her ancestors in return. Daphne likely hadn't told Astoria about any of this, judging by her answer to explain it all to Astoria later on, the part of the book would likely be omitted however.
"What is it about their reply then? What are you discussing with them?" Astoria asked in confusion, a frown crossing her face.
"It's too much to explain now, and as I said; we need our parents reply first to continue on it."
"Fine, leave me hanging then." Astoria huffed, crossing her arms.
"Oh Don't worry, I will. I'll see you two later this evening, I have to go now." Daphne said in a unbothered tone before turning around and walking away.
Astoria's eyes briefly held her sister's retreating figure, casting a glance at the clock before speaking to her. "Another meeting with Potter again?"
"Yup." Tracey simply said, not needing to explain why; Astoria already knew that Potter couldn't dance and was practicing it with her sister to learn it in time.
"You think they will the dancing for the whole evening? Their meetings have increased in length lately, surely they're also doing something else." Astoria said skeptically, leaning backwards in her seat lazily.
"Well she has also started teaching him Occlumency, although she doesn't explain why; it's probably for some private reason, either that or a secret we aren't supposed to know…mabye both." Tracey explained.
Astoria's expression turned a bit dull at her answer. "Oh, and here I thought that they might be doing something dirty."
"Which is why I explained it." She said rolling her eyes at the younger sister.
"Hmm." Astoria hummed looking thoughtful. "…It's quite strange though, the idea of my sister with a male even if it's only as a friend, she never showed much interest prior to this year."
"You're pretty much the same in that regard, even if you're younger than her." Tracey pointed out.
"True, but standards have to be met you know." Astoria simply agreed with her, not offering many arguments against her.
"So what do you think about it?" Astoria asked turning toward her with a curious expression.
She kept quiet for a moment to contemplate her answer as she fiddled with the paper of her magazine before speaking. "Pretty much the same feelings as you; I am happy for her, she seems to be enjoying herself during our lessons and is very open to him."
"It's good to hear that she is genuinely comfortable with him at least. " Astoria replied idly tapping with her feet on the intricate green carpet beneath them as she was likely imagining the scene in her head.
Tracey felt a sly grin creep upon her face as she leaned closer to the younger Greengrass. "Oh she is more than just comfortable, you should see them during our lessons, they're like a married couple."
"Potter? With my sister?" She asked her eyebrows nearly disappearing into her hairline in disbelief.
"Oh yes, they try to do it a bit discreetly of course being in class and all, but I always find it highly amusing to watch them mess and bicker with each other." Tracey continued seeing her face morph into amusement as she imagined it.
"Really now, well I guess that I should start paying a little more attention then, I suspect more than simple friendly intentions behind her help to him if things are as you say them to be." Astoria said grinning.
Tracey nodded in agreement. "I'm glad that you share the same thoughts then, Daphne never explained it in detail to me but she set these things up so that she got more time to spend with Potter after getting to know him during our lessons."
"Set what up?" Astoria questioned curiously.
"Well nearly everything, you already know that she got him to go to the Slug Club, but the dancing lessons, being instructors and going to the masquerade together? Yeah, that's been done in the same fashion."
Astoria laughed. "Yeah that's my sister, if it were up to her, she would plan everything up till the day she died. Daphne is quite fixated on him then, if she is putting this amount of effort and time in it."
"That she is. You should see how she looks at Granger sometimes when he talks or sits to her. As if she would like nothing more than to throw a Dungbomb between them."
Astoria stopped wriggling with her feet and frowned. "But Potter and Granger weren't a thing right? They can appear quite close sometimes but the things said about them were just rumors; false ones in this case, right?"
Tracey nodded. "Yeah, pretty sure they aren't true, Weasley and Granger shoot enough glances at each other during our lessons for me to see that, unlike Potter who is keeping his attention mostly on the work in front of him and Daphne. But that isn't necessarily much to go by from, who knows what Granger herself thinks, or Potter for that matter."
"Daphne must be thinking along the same lines then and became quite wary of it, but I guess I'll see it soon enough with my own eyes though." Astoria said with the same grin.
"Yeah likely, the dance lessons are coming soon and the rumors are already floating around a bit, It'll be known soon enough, they-or at least Daphne will be more open after that." She replied.
Astoria was silent for a moment before wrapping her arms around her middle and started making some kind of squealing sound. "I've hardly seen her that bull headed about something, it's so adorable! I'm going to tease her to death when I can!"
Tracey laughed. "Oh I'll join you; when we can, but for now let's give her some quiet to further her master plan, besides there might be nothing more, maybe she just likes him as a friend."
Astoria gave her a skeptical look, angling her head and raising an eyebrow. "Really now? You can actually still say that when you heard and seen these things from her firsthand? No way this is just friendly interest, her hooks are big enough to catch the giant squid in the lake."
Tracey smiled and shrugged. "I think the same but I'm just saying, things might be different, even if it seems very unlikely."
"Good, might have started thinking you were some kind of imposter otherwise." Astoria said nodding, satisfied with her answer. "And do you have someone already to go with? Or anyone you fancy?"
"No, can't say I do, I'll probably grab some guy by the neck during the dancing lessons who should be fun and polite to be with at the party."
"I see, nothing life changing for you then." Astoria said jokingly.
Tracey nodded in agreement despite Astoria's light tone, life changing indeed, that was how things were going to change for everyone.
"Wish I could come to the party though, no doubt that it's going to be beautiful." She said sighing in longing.
Tracey opened her mouth but kept silent when she saw a familiar shade of platinum hair descend the stairs in the back of the common room.
Malfoy's eyes briefly darted around the common room, not making his presence known or making any effort to do so; rather trying to do the opposite as he went straight for the exit behind her and Astoria in a hurried but silent pace.
His hair was kept in the same model as it always was with some unruliness in it instead of the usual perfectly smooth and slick, which had become some kind of trademark for him. His face looked tired but his eyes were awake as they darted around in some kind of paranoia.
Malfoy had to pass them and she realized that she quickly needed to look away from him lest he notice her looking.
She turned back to Astoria to see her face with a questioning gaze again, wondering why she had been silent for some time.
Talk! Anything, something! Why don't these things come when you need them the most?!
"Why was the mother firefly unhappy with her children?" She blurted out, using the first thing that came to mind.
Astoria gaze became only more questioning at the random question and sighed. "I don't know, because they couldn't fly?"
"No try again." She said a bit forced, seeing Malfoy's form pass them out of the corner of her eye, unchanged in behavior and paying no heed to them.
"Because they did something bad?" Astoria asked clueless, throwing her arms up.
"No, because they weren't so bright." Tracey answered giving an awfully fake laugh, hearing him leave the common room some distance behind them.
"Tracey, are these jokes ever going to get any better or will you continue to torture us with them until the end of time?"
She dimly registered Astoria's response as she rose from her seated position. Now was the right opportunity, Draco hadn't paid any attention to her and was currently on his way again to wherever he always went. She could catch up to him if she went now to see where he would go and what he would be doing.
"I realized that I left something in the library, I'll be right back." She said doing some gesture for her feigned forgetfulness, already moving towards the exit which Draco had gone through.
"Oh? Well it isn't the first time, I'll see you in a bit then." Astoria said looking a bit surprised at her sudden realization.
"I'll be right back, but do something in the meantime, don't bore yourself." Tracey called out, not sure how long she would be gone before disappearing and moving up the stone stairs, looking up the spiral staircase to make sure she wasn't too close behind him.
Daphne might believe it all to be nonsense but Tracey knew that something was up, Malfoy was spending all his time and effort on something, something he wanted to keep secret from the teachers, his classmates and friends. She had no idea as to what it might be, but she did know that it was something negative, Malfoy never did anything nice and spending his time so relentlessly on something couldn't be a nice surprise party.
She silently sped up the staircase, hoping that he was going back to his schemes instead of something mundane like the library as she moving past a few second years who had been on the descend fluidly taking the room they offered for her as they moved aside so she could slip past them. She continued onward and soon heard a steady pace on the stairs whom must belong to Malfoy since no one else had went up shortly before or after him, except for her.
Tracey kept enough distance between them to keep her out of sight in the spiraling staircase. She knew they would soon reach the dungeon corridor, the staircase to the common room wasn't very long.
The sound of his footsteps changed, letting her know that he had exited the stairs and was now in the corridor. She waited for a couple of seconds in the safety of the stairs before continuing upwards, peeking around the corner into the corridor when she came upon the exit he had left moments before.
She saw his retreating back at the end of the corridor, his head turning from side to side as he looked around as if expected that someone might jump him at any moment.
She kept her body hidden behind the stone wall as he turned left into a hallway that would lead him upstairs. She moved as soon as he was out of sight, padding silently to the next corner and peeking around again just in time to see his legs disappear into the staircase as he traveled up.
Tracey moved again intent to keep him within her range, repeating the same tactic on the stairs again by keeping her own steps silent while listening to his sluggish ones.
This continued for some time until she heard him exit again while she strained to keep her breathed silent as they had gone all the way up to the fourth floor, which was the maximum this staircase could bring them.
She waited again, both to catch up her breath and to create some safe distance between them as a long hallway was up ahead which would mean more risk to exposure in the long, open space.
Deciding that enough time had passed, she moved upward again, quickly coming upon the end of the stairs and casting another peek around the edge into the long corridor. She saw Malfoy just as he rounded the corner, turning his head left as he went, taking one last glimpse at the hallway behind him; a glimpse of her, she realized with a jolt as his eyes seemed to cross hers for a fraction of a second before he disappeared behind the stone wall.
Tracey stood frozen as her heart had instantly begun to hammer in her chest, had he seen her? She hadn't really seen him respond, maybe he hadn't seen her, he had been a long distance away and it had only been for a fraction of a second,
She gathered herself and took a quick stride through the corridor with that in thought, once again waiting behind the safety the wall offered her.
She heard something as she stood and quickly recognized it to be his footsteps which softly echoed throughout the corridor, they had become louder and more hurried meaning that he had picked up his pace. She too continued after him with a faster pace after she saw no signs of him in the next hallway, but was slowed by her intentions on keeping her own footsteps silent, not wanting to indirectly confirm to him that he was indeed being followed.
At the end of the hallway was an intersection, forcing Tracey to choose one of them since she hadn't seen which one he went into.
The left hallway would lead her to another staircase which went up to the seventh floor, while the right hallway would take her to the library. She went left after briefly using her reasoning, Malfoy had gone to the seventh floor the last time around and would probably have taken another route if his intention had been to go to the library.
She hurried down the corridor towards the staircase, passing house clothed walls and suits of armor as she went in an uncomfortable silence, devoid of talking and sleeping portraits.
Tracey dimly heard his leaping footsteps echo in the spiral staircase, and noted that he was probably near the end of the stairs already, causing her to quicken her pace, cringing as she heard her footsteps.
The sound of his footsteps trailed off after a few moments, informing her once again that he had exited the stairs. She sped up some more, taking multiple steps at once with each stride up the staircase, fearing that she might lose him again.
She took a few breaths to calm her breathing at the top of the staircase, and took a tentative glance into the corridor of the seventh floor. Nothing, not a sight nor sound. Something that both relieved and frustrated her, relieved that he hadn't been lying in ambush for her, and frustrated since she was beginning to believe that she had lost him. Again.
She stepped into the corridor that was also only decorated by empty suits of armor, with clothes and colours of every house hanging on the walls, making her realize that he had probably taken this route with the purpose of avoiding any and all portraits along the way.
She walked along the hallway, the only thing out of place being the completely blank stretch of wall. She looked closer but saw and felt no seams or buttons to wedge or push onto, proving to her that it was simply a spot devoid of decorations.
Tracey continued down the hallway and looked around for some time but was soon sure that she had lost him again, she hadn't seen or heard a sign from him after coming up the staircase herself. Making her reluctantly head to the library to pick up some imaginary book.
At the very least this proves to some degree that Malfoy either values his privacy to extreme measures or is doing something he shouldn't be. She'll convince Daphne slowly but surely that something isn't right
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He shot inside and closed the door behind him, hoping that no traces of him and the door had been seen as he rested his head against the door to regain his breath, he had very nearly run the last part. After catching a glimpse of somebody behind him as he had turned into a corner, Draco had hoped to lose whoever it was that followed him earlier on the way but had evidently been unable to do so as his pursuer had tailed him most of the way here again.
He hadn't been entirely sure last time but now he had been convinced. Somebody was following him, was suspicious of him.
Maybe next time he should take detours until his pursuer either gave up or lost him, giving him the opportunity to safely enter the room. In fact he should have done that just minutes before, but his mind hadn't been all that calm and focused as he had been followed by the unknown figure back then, at the time he had hoped that the intersection would have been enough to throw off whoever was behind him. which proved to be a mistake on his part.
Who had been following him? Somebody was intent on finding out where he was going, and what he was doing.
It probably hadn't been Potter, he would have been faster and completely unseen with that cloak he had, no it was someone else, for he had seen shadows and a shifting silhouette on multiple occasions. This person had no means of such kind of concealment.
He had seen a glimpse of his pursuer when he had rounded the corner to the staircase. It had been hard to see in the low hanging sun, casting long shadows in the hallway coupled with the fraction of a second it lasted and the distance between them.
But he had distinguished a feminine figure with chestnut brown hair.
The only notable person who came to mind was Tracey Davis girl from his own house, he had seen her throw suspicious glances at him on multiple occasions after the first time he had been followed. She likely wasn't that fast and was in an easy position to see him leave as he had to cross the common room each time he left, just like tonight.
But what should he do? Wait and confront her? No that would confirm her suspicions, causing her to inform the teachers. Threaten her? No that would do the same and who knew what she might do after his threat, he didn't have the support of his family anymore to back it up; to make it seem real. It seemed that any confronting action he could take would end up with leading more attention to him.
Draco leveled his head already seeing the cabinet peek through all the shelves, items, chairs, mirrors and furniture that filled the large room in a chaotic fashion. There must be hundreds of not thousands of objects and books here in the vast oval room.
He had to continue on like this, no other way. Just keep losing her and anyone else on the way here. Hopefully she wouldn't talk too much, Greengrass would likely hear it from her, but beyond that they didn't talk much to other people and with a little bit of luck kept it to themselves. Otherwise he would be forced to do… something. He didn't know what yet, but he would need to have some kind of emergency measure ready by then.
Draco made his way through all the items and objects to the cabinet. He had to fix it… he must, the Dark Lord said he would kill his parents if he were to fail at killing Albus Dumbledore before the given deadline. Other methods didn't work, the necklace was discovered and the poison he recently send never arrived. This was probably the only plan which had any chance of success.
It was punishment for the failure of his father at the ministry, none were allowed to help him and Snape was untrustworthy due to his insistent attempts of helping him. He either genuinely wanted to help him or take all the glory for himself when Draco managed to succeed at repairing the cabinet.
But he couldn't even if Snape were genuine, his parents would pay the price if the Dark Lord were to find out, which he surely would. Draco might have learned Occlumency through the tormenting lessons of his aunt; Bellatrix, but they would surely prove insufficient against the mind piercing eyes of the Dark Lord.
He thought back to the summer vacation at their mansion and nearly shivered thinking about those blood red eyes again, how they looked down on him in amusement when he informed him of his mission to kill Dumbledore, his mission to kill one of the most powerful wizards alive or let his parents face the consequences. In the background his mother wept uncontrollably but silently, as if a death sentence had been spoken over him. Draco consoled and reassured her afterwards, but the words tasted like lies from start to finish.
He only wanted to serve the Dark Lord, he never thought it to be like this, why were they being punished so brutally? Draco tried to still his hand from trembling, he still had time, it was going to be all right. He was going to fulfill his mission at killing Dumbledore and redeem his families honor, they would have their old lives back after that.
Everything used to be so simple..