𝑆𝐴𝑉𝐼𝑁𝐺 𝐷𝑅𝐴𝐶𝑂 𝑀𝐴𝐿𝐹𝑂𝑌

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟔 - 𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐥𝐬

╭────── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ──────╮

*trigger warning: self-harm*

⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼

𝐃

So what if I was bored and decided to read a book that I may or may not had recognized as the one Ophelia was holding in her hands in the train? So what if I found it interesting? So what if I wanted to steal it so I could follow the writer's train of thought; for indeed, what was the moral obligation of a wizard in his abuse of his gifts? Which were our responsibilities in a heavily mugglized world?

All those questions that were raised in the first chapter were now distracting me from one very important part of my life. That loathsome writer better not have written this book and lured me in with some interesting first pages, only to broadcast some vile muggle-loving propaganda.

I woke up extremely early the next morning – at about 5 o'clock. Blaise's tranquil snore must have woken me up but I could never go back to sleep from the moment I woke up. I got dressed quietly and decided to take a walk on the grounds. I would have started my first attempt on finding a Vanishing Cabinet at the Room of Requirement, but this was a task that had better be pursued after exact calculations and when my mind was at ease.

I took my first steps up the spiral staircase that led out of the dungeons but was immediately stopped by a hand on my shoulder. The hand pushed violently and spun me around.

"Going somewhere, Draco?"

Severus' interrogating eyes were haunting me. In the presence of this man, even a saint could feel guilty of an unknown deed.

"What do you want?"

"I am surprised you didn't come to see me. I am well aware your mother informed you that I offered my assistance concerning your... urging matters. I would have expected you to have come to my office the moment you set foot in Hogwarts last night," he said in a low, slow voice.

"Who said that I want your help?" I said and made a warning step in a desperate attempt to frighten him. Severus, however, was not one to buy threats. He took one, decisive step and he was suddenly towering over me in a way I could only compare to how my father looked down to me when I was a child.

"You don't? I heard you had quite a summer. Someone might say you are... afraid," he said, pointing out the last word.

"You can take my word for this, Severus; I am not afraid. And I will not be outshined by a mediocre teacher who wants to suck the glory out of whatever he puts his hands on. Why don't you stick where you're good at? Why don't you go spy on Dumbledore while I do the important work here?" I hissed.

"If you put half the effort you put into thinking clever insults into your effort to think of a plan of action, then you would have already succeeded," said Severus. "You have nothing to be afraid of from me. If anything, I want to protect you. I am your godfather after all," he added.

"Well, rest assure, I can protect myself – godfather," I said and pushed his arm out of my way.

I escaped the dungeons almost running. The sun had not risen yet but the sky was deep with reds and purples as I was making my way to past the Whomping Willow and to the shallow waters of the Dark Lake.

My head was always clearer here, under the old elm, near the banks of the lake, and I was determined to sit down and think through the details of my roughly devised plan. When was the right time to find the Vanishing Cabinet? Would a simple incantation be enough to mend it? The operation to get Death Eaters in the castle was complicated enough and I hadn't even started thinking of how I would kill the old man.