𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒 | draco malfoy [6]

𝐗𝐈𝐈𝐈. TAMPERED MEMORIES AND TICKLED PEARS

The other boys filed out, heading back to their dorms, but Tom lingered behind. Slughorn turned to see him still there. "Look sharp, Tom. You don't want to be caught out of bed after hours. Something on your mind?"

"Yes, sir," Tom said. "I just couldn't think of anyone else to go to. The other Professors, well... they're not like you. They might... misunderstand."

"Go on."

"I was in the library the other night, in the restricted section, and I read something rather odd about a piece of rare magic. I thought, perhaps, you could illuminate me." Tom explained.

However, I noticed the audio of the memory beginning to muffle, making it harder to understand what Tom was saying.

"It's called, as I understand it," Tom said, but the rest was so muffled that I could not make out the last word.

"I beg your pardon?" Slughorn asked, his own voice perfectly clear. "I don't know anything about such things, and if I did, I wouldn't tell you! Now, get out of here at once and don't let me ever catch you mentioning it again!"

With that, the memory ended and Harry and I lifted our faces out of the Pensieve, looking at Dumbledore.

"Confused?" The headmaster asked. "I'd be surprised if you weren't."

"Well, what happened?" I asked, glancing back down at the Pensieve, hoping for a clue.

"As I said, this is perhaps the most important memory I've collected. It is also a lie." Dumbledore sat down as Harry and I walked towards him. "It has been tampered with. By the same person who's memory it is; our old friend Professor Slughorn."

"But why would he temper with his own memory?" Harry asked.

"I suspect he's ashamed of it," Dumbledore answered. 

"Why?"

"Why, indeed? I asked you two to get to know Professor Slughorn, and you have done so. Now I want you to persuade him to divulge his true memory. Anyway you can." Dumbledore told us.

"We- we don't know him that well, sir," I frowned.

Dumbledore looked down into the swirling memory in the Pensieve. "This memory is everything. Without it, we are blind. Without it, we leave the fate of our world to chance. You have no choice, you must not fail."

"I'm staying behind," Harry muttered to me as we packed up our supplies. Potions class had just ended.

"What, to try to get the memory?" I asked, and he nodded. "Harry are you sure, I don't really-"

"You don't think I can do it?"

"To be honest? No. You're a bit dim, you'll probably be too straightforward and then Slughorn will grow wary of us." I glared at him.

"I won't be straightforward," He glared back. I knew there was no point in arguing, so I simply shrugged and walked out of the door. Hermione had already left, as did Ron. Not together, though, they still weren't speaking.

Draco followed me out, and I turned to look back at him. I hadn't thought it possible, but he was now thinner and paler than ever. So pale, even, there seemed to be a gray tint to his skin. There were also dark, protruding circles under his eyes.

"Have you been sleeping?" I asked him, pausing so he could be next to me, taking his hand in mine. "You don't look too well."

"It's alright, I'm fine," He told me. "I don't want you worrying about me, alright?" I frowned, but didn't argue anymore on the subject.