Draco Malfoy and the House of Black

The Silver Phoenix

Draco kept a close eye on his snake watch while he was at Grimmauld, calculating how long it should be before Ron and Hermione would expect him at the Three Broomsticks. It was a foolish project, from a rational point of view, no practical purpose, but the idea seemed unspeakably satisfying. That was, if he had the right to use the spell, and if his wand would even obey him and do it once he figured out how.

He had to leave before he made any real progress, but he filled two sacks with promising-looking books off the shelves, casting a Featherlight charm and transfiguring the bags into large facsimiles of shop bags before Apparating himself to an alley in Hogsmeade, close to the Three Broomsticks. He ended up making it only a few minutes after Ron and Hermione's arrival. When the sight of new books naturally aroused Hermione's curiosity, he gave her only the vaguest answers about where he had bought them and what they were. Maybe he would enlist her help in his new project later, but even she wouldn't want him talking about it in front of Ron. So he kept them in the dark, and listened to them enthuse about the joys of Hogsmeade.

Draco was seized with inspiration, one he promptly discarded as soon as it had come, to get Potter to give him his invisibility cloak and stake out the front of Gryffindor Tower, to observe Black's attempt to bypass the Fat Lady. Maybe he could even say to hell with the blue loop and stun the unaware fugitive, turn him over to justice and see him get Kissed before anyone was the wiser about potential innocence. Severus would be happy.

Hermione wouldn't be.

He made his first appearance at the Halloween Feast in the red line, and was amused to watch all of the Slytherin table seem to relax, seeing him take a seat there. Memories of him loosing the Malfoy family troll in the dungeons two years ago had not faded quickly. "No need for a public service announcement this year, then?" Blaise quipped.

"Unfortunately," Draco groused, "I have no dank and nefarious deeds to accomplish to save me from having to celebrate Samhain with you lot."

"It's a shame you can't go home to the Manor for this," Theo said, gaze towards Draco fond for once, in the only thing that seemed to make it fond these days: memory. "Your family is having a Samhain masquerade this year, aren't they? With bonfires? Samhain at Malfoy Manor is amazing."

"I never got invited," Pansy said gloomily, and the thought seemed to ruin her Halloween.

Nearly Headless Nick managed to spare himself from his Deathday Party long enough to provide a dinner show, though Draco could hardly see or taste anything before him. The urge was overwhelming to go back to Slytherin and look at the books from Grimmauld Place, so much so that he regretted coming at all.

Draco cut out of the feast as soon as it was respectably possible, not wanting to get caught up anywhere near the drama that would be ensuing any minute now in front of Gryffindor Tower. It was a welcome relief, the thought of what seemed the inevitable Halloween chaos not involving him for once. He had his books to scour for any references to the spell he needed. Except he had not even made it back securely into his dorm, before the word started around that they were all to go to the Great Hall.

He'd forgotten. Black's intrusion meant the school on lockdown, not just Gryffindor. Great. Of all of the useless things he had to relive, there was this sleepover, when he had books to read.

"The teachers and I need to conduct a thorough search of the castle," Dumbledore told them as McGonagall and Flitwick closed all doors into the Hall. "I'm afraid that, for your own safety, you will have to spend the night here. I want the Prefects to stand guard over the entrances to the Hall and I am leaving the Head Boy and Girl in charge. Any disturbance should be reported to me immediately," he added to Peter Weasley by his side, who looked like his brother's best friend in peril was his Christmas come early. "Send word with one of the ghosts.. oh, yes, you'll be needing...."