Interstellar || Draco Malfoy

40 || The End of an Era

Seated in the Great Hall, tucked comfortably into Draco's side, I was brushing up on my advanced charms when Crabbe slammed down his newspaper.

"Bellatrix Lestrange broke out of Azkaban." He sounded, pointing at the image of Azkaban prison.

"Lestrange?" I tested the unfamiliar name.

"My aunt." Draco whispered to me.

"How did she escape?" I questioned, closing my charms book.

"Says here that Sirius Black helped her and a handful of others." Goyle read, staring down at the newspaper.

"Must be that Voldemort is rebuilding his army." I shrugged, earning a few shocked gasps from the Gryffindor table. I rolled my eyes at their gasps; I mean, I understand he is to be feared, but I refused to allow his name to frighten me.

"Most likely." Goyle nodded, looking away from the newspaper. After we finished our lunches, we reported to Umbridge for extra credit. Today, she would be deploying her new Inquisitorial Squad in search of Harry Potter, who she'd heard rumors that he was hiding away in the Room of Requirement.

"Now, I've discovered Potter's loca- Miss Littlesea?" Umbridge cut herself off, turning to look at me with her sickly sweet smile.

"Yes, professor?"

"A bit more space between you and Mr. Malfoy, if you please." Umbridge suggested, eyeing the small gap between Draco and I. I moved to my left, putting a bit more distance between Draco and myself, making Umbridge nearly trill with excitement. "Perfect. As I was saying, I've discovered him and his friends are in the Room of Requirement."

"Let's go then, Professor." Goyle said eagerly, ready to get his hands on the boy he's hated for years.

"Right, follow me." The Inquisitorial Squad followed behind the pink-clad woman, eager to finally earn some extra credit. I was only here for the sole purpose of getting one Hermione Granger in some trouble, as she was my direct competition for top of our class. A little infraction on her permanent record would finally put me one step closer to coming out on top.

Umbridge slowed to a stop beside one of the walls, and she instructed the Inquisitorial Squad to fire spells at it. Their spells did little to the magical wall, only barely chipping at the surface. It was another full minute before the wall finally chipped open a small hole, and I cleared my throat with a small smirk.

"Professor?" I asked, halting the other students. "May I?"

"Of course." Umbridge nodded, stepping aside to allow me to raise my wand.

"Bombarda maxima." I cast the spell, blowing a large enough hole in the wall to reveal the so-called golden trio on the other side. With a smirk sent in the direction of Hermione Granger, I took a step to the side.

"What do we have here?" Umbridge questioned, her eyes focused solely on Harry Potter.

We left Umbridge to deal with the students found in the Room of Requirement, and headed to our common room. It was a peaceful night until Umbridge burst through the common room door. Her beady eyes scanned the dimly lit common room before they landed on me.

"Miss Littlesea, I am in need of your potions skills once again." She requested. "I need veritaserum."

"Right away, Professor." I agreed.

========

"Hello." I spoke softly, sitting beside a crying first year. Upon further inspection, I noticed she was wearing a Ravenclaw robe.

"Oh, h-hi." The girl sniffled, wiping the tears from her eyes. I sighed and looked down at her bloody and shaking hand.

"What's your name, love?" I asked softly, taking her injured hand in my own.