Meliorism

05 | the hideout

The evergreen bush was shaped in a faintly familiar form that would be easy to miss if I didn't take a double-take.

The minuscule leaves were bent and trimmed in a way that presented a faint outline of a snake in an elegant crest. Normal individuals wouldn't give the bush a second glance, but I was one of the few who would recognize the design.

I inched closer to the bush, only to notice a small engraving on the boulder beside it.

Slytherin Champion 1991

Laughter bubbled up my throat when the words finally registered in my mind. Only Blaise would keep such memory so close to his heart.

Every year, in the Slytherin common room, the most popular upper years would be voted to host the championship. Only individuals in their fourth year could participate to win the title of 'Slytherin Champion'. Draco, Blaise, and I were among the countless third-year students that participated, in the class of 1991. Much to everyone's disdain, Blaise won and beat Draco, also known as the 'Slytherin Prince' at that time, by a point.

Clearly, he never forgot his victory.

Appearing unphased at the words, Draco pulled out his wand and tapped the engraving three times. He whispered an unintelligible incantation that caused the grassy ground behind the boulder to rumble softly. Gradually, a layer of grass and dirt rolled to one side, forming the resemblance of a brown and green log cake.

I assumed there were wards to protect his wand from being tracked. Unless we spent hours trudging in the dark for no reason.

A shiny metal stairway was revealed.

The stairs led downward, into a pitch-black emptiness that would easily scare away unwanted stragglers. Thankfully, the boulder and bush concealed most of the opening, in case Death Eaters decided to catch up to us while we moved down to the hideout.

I lifted Draco's arm over my shoulder once again. This time, my straining muscles didn't bother me as much as before. All I wanted was to stay somewhere safe for a while; a place to calm my restless nerves and quiet my racing mind.

Together, we took careful steps down the steep metal staircase. There were no railings to hold on to, unfortunately, forcing us to teeter while we descended.

Before I could even speak, about the eeriness of the air or the uncertainty I felt in my gut, the opening above us rumbled once again.

Soon, the moon's gaze on our weary forms became interrupted as the entrance sealed itself. We were then left in complete darkness, with nothing but the hold of each other to maintain stability.

"Lumos."

My vision was blinded by the bright light emitting from the tip of Draco's wand. Soon, my vision cleared and regained focus on a solid silver door that stood no more than two steps ahead.

A deep voice introduced itself, "State your business. I am not afraid of using the Unforgivables."

I nearly jumped at the sudden sound.

The light emitted from his wand allowed me to catch the flash of irritation on his face. "Hurry, Zabini. I haven't got all day," Draco drawled.

There was a pause of silence.

With multiple echoing clicks, followed by a smooth hiss, the heavy doors swung open and revealed the dark-skinned boy behind it. He held his wand tightly in his left hand while studying us in silence.

My smile faltered at the seriousness on his face.

Calculative, his hazel eyes flickered back and forth, taking in our dishevelled appearance.

The familiar arrogance wasn't lost on me. I caught the way his nose scrunched when he noticed the coat of sweat on our skin. Blaise's mouth slowly shifted from a straight line into a slight grimace of disgust at the sight of my muggle clothes.

Always quick to judge. At least one thing hadn't changed after all these years.

"Malfoy," he scolded, rolling his eyes. His voice was significantly less deep and threatening than it initially was. "I told you to find somewhere else to shag your girls. I'm not interested in throwing out my bedsheets again."

Again. I wrinkled my nose and desperately tried to forget what I heard.

"Seriously, Zabini." I crossed my arms. "After all that time studying for O.W.L.s together... Am I that easy to forget?"

I was only teasing, of course. It was understandable that he didn't recognize me from the get-go. I knew I looked like an absolute mess, which strayed far from the typical standards I had for myself at Hogwarts.

Blaise's dark eyes locked to mine. I could almost hear the gears turning inside his head, attempting to process the sight in front of him.

"Black?" He scratched his head with his wand, appearing befuddled at my presence. "I- Aren't you dead?"

Hey!

I joined Wattpad around three years ago, starting off with a different account that I really don't want to get into too much detail about because tHE CRINGE.

The first story I published there had awful writing with an awful plot and an awful cover (made with the Wattpad Covers app). It was the worst One Direction (or 5sos, I can't really remember) fanfiction I've ever read/written.

I just wanted to say that it's amazing that writing and reading on Wattpad could impact my life so much.

I went to middle school with lower-than-average English grades (it's my second language).

Now, in high school, I receive grades above 90%. I was even suggested to take IB 11 and 12 English last year because I got the highest overall mark in the class (97%). This isn't me bragging, but me being so grateful I found this website/app.

I still have much to learn, but I'm so glad I'll be able to improve here.

I'd like to thank Puff_Pride for helping me with the very first version of this story (You're a Wizard?).

And also ElizabethTrumpet for supporting me through several rewritten versions of this story, it's amazing that you're still here and voting!

I know 90 reads and 19 votes aren't really something to be extremely excited about, but I just wanted to put my thanks out there :)

Thank you so much for reading and voting!
Please let me know what you think about these chapters. I appreciate every comment, negative or positive.

edited: 05/30/2018
edited: 09/04/2020