Fate's Chosen (Harry Potter Fanfiction)

Chapter 22: The Hogwarts Heist

"There's looking after your soul-bonded... And then there's stalking." Ashley called out, "You're currently in the latter, Draco."

She, Mitchelle, and Alyssa were on their way to Hagrid's hut. Having spent the past few days focusing on their plan to sneak inside Dumbledore's office, learning useful concealing spells and whatnot, they decided to take a little break. And what a time it was to visit a certain half-giant. The girls timed it on the night they knew for sure that he would have already gained Norbert-well, Norberta's egg. They were ecstatic to meet an actual dragon. Ashley couldn't wait to see if Parseltongue really did work with dragons. If it did, Harry should have used that during the tournament, although his way was good too. Any means was as long as survival was ultimately achieved in the end.

The Golden Trio had just stepped outside the castle when Ashley finally chose to acknowledge the person that had been trailing after them in the shadows for quite some time. Magic sensitivity was a great thing to have. It soothed paranoia since it could sense the magical signature of every living creature and non-living artifact. Nobody could surprise Ashley unless she wasn't particularly paying attention, unlike her current situation. After her statement, a thump resonated from where Draco clumsily fell out of his hiding place.

"I-I'm not stalking!" He objected.

Are those silk pajamas? Damn, and here I am wearing transfigured hand-me-downs...

"Yes, you are." Ashley countered.

She shoved her map in her pocket beside her shrunken cloak. The coast was clear for the time being. The staff patrolling the castle for the night, including the student prefects, was far from their location. And, of course, it wasn't like any of the portraits would ever snitch on the darling Hogwarts Heiress (who was coincidentally their most favorite student).

"If you want to come with, you can. You don't have to sneak around." Alyssa snickered.

"Er, fine..." Draco muttered.

Red-faced, he quietly fell in step with the girls, standing quite closely to his soul-bonded. Ashley glanced at them in the corner of her eyes, and nudged Mitchelle, silently communicating that they should move away. Seeing this, Alyssa rolled her eyes and glared half-heartedly, downplaying her sudden blush. If Ashley and Mitchelle had noticed Draco reaching out to hold her hand, they thankfully kept it to themselves. They knew when to stop their teasing; they didn't want Draco to feel any more embarrassed than he already probably did.

The four of them arrived in front of Hagrid's home. Seeing as the Slytherins were busy with themselves, Ashley took it upon herself to knock on the door. Hagrid opened the door wearing oven mitts and an apron. He raised an eyebrow at Draco but, nevertheless, greeted the lot of them merrily and ushered them all in. They sat around the table as Hagrid turned to tend to the cauldron hung over the fire. Fang padded over and placed his head on Draco's lap, shocking the blond still. Alyssa scooted her chair closer and petted the docile dog, urging Draco to do the same, which he reluctantly did.

"Not that I don't appreciate your company, but why are you four here? After curfew at that..." Hagrid questioned.

Draco looked to the girls for answers but they only shrugged and updated the half-giant with the recent developments of their plans. This included Snape switching over to their side. He had also gained the protection of Ashley's gift. She was aware that he was an accomplished Occlumens, he used the ability frequently to hide his true intentions from Voldemort after all, but it couldn't hurt to have more security in that regard. Dumbledore receiving any kind of hint of her actions was a risk she was not willing to take.

The chatter was disrupted by the rattling of the cauldron. Hagrid rushed to retrieve what the girls knew to be a hatching dragon egg. Ashley straightened in her seat, eagerly leaning forward as the egg was placed on the table, Hagrid yelping along the way. Blissfully ignoring Draco's squeak of terror at the sight, she let Moko slither down her arm to settle near the egg. Her familiar had such parental instincts; she would love to see him father his own little ones someday.