Brighter Than The Moon (A Draco Malfoy Fanfic)

Chapter 3 // The Beginnings of A Mystery

Ron Weasley was sorted into Gryffindor and at last, Blaise, who was the last person to be sorted, was declared a Slytherin. He joined Aliza, Pansy and Draco at the table before Dumbledore, the wizened headmaster of Hogwarts, stepped up to the podium and began the welcoming feast with four odd words.

The food was amazing and could very well be on par with Mrs. Gardner's cooking. Aliza wondered what the orphanage children were doing right now and whether they were even still there. She was lost in thought when Draco nudged her.

"What?"

"I said," Pansy repeated, slightly annoyed. "Where did you and your brother disappear off to all these years?"

"Well," Aliza paused, thinking of whether she should go into any kind of detail or not. "We grew up in an orphanage."

"An orphanage? So you grew up with muggles," she said rather than asked. Aliza nodded and Blaise asked another question. "What are they like?"

"They're pretty much like me and you, just without any magic," she replied. "They don't keep promises too well, though."

"Must be pretty nasty living with such filth every day," Draco said with a disgusted frown.

"It's not that bad. You just don't get too close to them."

"What's Potter's views on muggles?" Pansy asked, eyeing the Gryffindor table, who were making a ruckus about their house ghost.

"I can't say for sure, but he probably thinks them as equals. We did grow up thinking we were muggles after all."

"How do you think he survived the killing curse and defeated the Dark Lord?" Blaise asked.

"I don't think Harry actually defeated the Dark Lord," Theodore suddenly said from his seat beside Pansy.

"Harry? What is he," Draco snarled. "Your friend?"

Blaise rolled his eyes at the blond boy before turning to Theo. "Care to elaborate?"

"Do you honestly think a child could defeat the most powerful dark wizard the world has ever seen?" Theo asked mildly.

The conversation ended there because Dumbledore had stood once more and begun establishing some rules with the school. What Theo had said hung in the air as they followed the Slytherin prefect back to their dorms in the dungeons.

"What do you reckon Dumbledore's hiding in the third-floor corridor?" A fellow Slytherin nudged Aliza.

"I don't know," she shrugged. "A huge beast?"

"I think there's a poisonous plant growing there. Something like a trap of sorts," she said. "I'm Daphne, by the way. Daphne Greengrass." She extended her hand and Aliza reached out to shake it.

"Aliza Potter, though I think you already know that," Aliza smiled.

"Alright, here's the password for this week," the prefect was saying when they came to a stop in front of a stone wall. "Ambitre."

The stone wall slid back to reveal an entrance that was elegantly decorated. One by one, the Slytherins all stepped into the common room. Aliza loved it at once despite the chill. A lush green carpet was lain on the floor with silver and emerald couches and armchairs strewn neatly across the room. The fireplace, which was burning weakly, was decorated with intricately carved patterns. On the wall opposite the fireplace was a large bookcase that spanned the entire wall. Beside the bookcase were a set of stone stairs that led further down into the dungeons. What amazed the first years most, though, was the huge glass wall that enabled them to see into the great lake. The moonlight cast a beautiful shadow through the lake and into the common room.