"All students are to be in the great hall tonight for a special announcement. I repeat 'All students are to be in the great hall tonight for a special announcement'" The voice of Albus Dumbledore was running through the walls of Hogwarts from the small loudspeakers that were at every corner.
"-Minerva- How do i tur- Oh- neve-"
A few snickers and horrified looks were exchanged through the halls, although Draco seemed to have the biggest smile on his face since- well maybe since Harry Potter got his face slapped by Professor Umbridge
He wasn't happy about the old wise voice that was ringing across the halls. No- it was more about the encounter he'd just had
Who wouldn't be excited about meeting a mermaid?
His plan was to go up to his dorm and change his clothes, as he was still in a black suit and black coat. Luckily, they were both dark enough to distract eyes from lingering on the mud that dotted his clothing
"Mate!" He heard familiar voices call out his name, which he chose to ignore
"Oi! Mate!" The smile seemed to fade like fogged up the glass when the force of a certain someone's hand turned him at the heel.
"What Xeno? I'm a bit busy" Both Blaise and Xeno were standing next to each other, closely studying his ripped clothing and dirty hair
"Where have you been?" Blaise asked, looking him up and down
"What happened to your- everything?" Xeno blurted at the same time
Draco seemed to be stunned and almost speechless, searching the books in his head for a good enough excuse
"I- um"A stutter strangled him
"You?" Xeno asked, a playful grin tugging at him
"Well- I fell asleep at the-"
Before Draco could finish his road that led nowhere, Xeno practically lunged at him, making Draco push Xeno away.
"Hey! Watch it!" Xeno turned to see Betty Kareem, a tall Ravenclaw that he'd been tangled with ever since their first year at Hogwarts.
"-Oh, pardon me Betty, I thought you were someone else" He smiled, a red tint covering the tip of his nose and ears
"It's Kareem to you, Lovegood" She spat back with cold narrow eyes, walking away from the crowd of three- that soon turned into two as he went to follow her, playing a game of cat and mouse
Draco and Blaise could hear as he continued to throw arrows of flirtatious comments, whilst her glass stained dartboard would move the last second, missing his darts of observations
As Draco saw that Blaise was distracted, he decided to slip away
"Oh- not so fast you ferret," Blaise said, hooking his finger from the belt of his trousers, pulling him back.
"You still haven't answered us- me" Draco gulped as his eyes swarmed for an answer
"I told you, I fell asleep at the library. Anyway it isn't like it is any of your business Zabini" He spat back, giving him a menacing glare as a warning not to ask again
"I swear, you and Pansy are like the same people- Oh, speaking of Pansy, she said she needs to see you now- like right now right now, no waits" He rushed
Draco sighed, thinking this might have to do with the cabinet
"Where's Pansy?"
"Right- forgot to mention, she's at the hospital wing," Blaise said bluntly, as he was slowly walking away from Draco
He blinked, confused at Pansy's location. "Why?"
"Mate- I've got class, just go to the hospital wing before she rips our guts out"
Draco was left standing there, not really sure of what to do- But he did know that whatever his option was, it would not lead to any good
---
Cordelia had a beaming smile on her face, as she retraced the cobblestones on her walls carefully, much as she did with the face of Draco Malfoy
He was so perfectly carved in her mind, she could just see him so right- from his delicately pointed nose to his pouted lips, hooded eyes that were deeply lined in thought- Oh, and how could she forget his voice
His words bounced off her ears every now and then in a dreamy fuzzed-out manner.
'I have yet to ask...'
He would pause between every part of his sentence
'Your name?'
And she would answer '...Cordelia'
'Draco' He would reply back
'When's the best time I can see you again, Cordelia' The way her name flew off his lips was just so satisfying to her
Her eyes fluttered shut as she went through every detail and speck from the day before. It truly felt like she'd known him for her entire lifetime.
Her day was spent like this, in her cave, alone, avoiding all Sirens and all trouble. She would rarely go outside to see if the boy decided to pay her a visit. She didn't expect him to, for the school day hadn't finished for the students
...
Cordelia opened her chest box full of stolen jewelry, deciding to get herself tolerably good-looking for her illicit meeting
So many to choose from that she'd collected over her years trapped in this haunted realm- She was stuck between two options, one that seemed to lure her, it was a large, oval locket of heavy gold, with serpentine in the shape of an 's', and another with a delicate amethyst jewel that would hang just above her collar bone
Her eyes seemed to be more attracted to the amethyst necklace, so she finally made her choice, clasping the neck that went just below her collar bone
Cordelia admired herself with the shattered piece of glass she found years ago. She could only see parts of herself at a time, so besides the reflection in the clear waters, she'd never really seen herself properly, or fully yet
She'd drawn out a sketch in her brain of what she might have looked like to others. Clearly, she must be hideous seeing how filthy the sirens treat her.
She must have a face only a mother can love- Tough luck she'd never feel that maternal fence that was protecting her from the heinous outside world
---
"Where were you Draco? What's your excuse now, hm? You weren't at your dorm, you weren't in your dorm- Hell, did you even try to make an attempt at fixing the cabinet Draco? I trusted you and thought you were responsible enough, clearly not- Do you not realize that our lives are on a very thin line right now with the-" she paused her lecturer, hesitant to say the dark lord's title out loud"-with it? Do you just not care at all?" She let out a long sigh finishing her scolding speech, much like a mother would to her child who'd just stepped in with muddy shoes in the house
Draco said nothing, as he was thinking of something reasonable to say "I-Well Snape he nee-"
"And your clothes" she cut him off studying his crumpled look "Draco, you look like you'd just shagged someone in the mud- is that what you-"
"No" He firmly stated, cringing at the thought "I- Pansy I'm sorry, Let me mak-"
"Draco" She began with an almost pleading sigh "I need to know where you were, I need to know now- You've just been so out of it. And I get that this task is frustrating and-"
"I had to see my mother"
Lie
"-and I- What?"
"My mother, well she sent me a port key back to the manner, it was important and she desperately needed to see me- confidential family business" He felt terrible- awful about lying, but he had no alternative option
She paused and looked him in the eye
"Draco- I'm so sorry, is she alr-"
"Don't worry about it, she's fine and so am I" Guilt flooded him, drowned him as he saw the worried look on his friends face
The silence was like a smack on the wrist for Draco
"Why are you at the hospital wing?" He asked, defeating the bustling crowd of hush
"Well- I'm not totally sure" She chuckled a bit "Apparently I fainted in the middle of the common room"
"Fainted?" He furrowed
She nodded "It was strange, I barely have any memory of last night at all. It wasn't even a blur, I just can't remember a thing" The feeling felt all too familiar for Draco, yet he decided to stay quiet.
"I remember looking for you, and then I- I felt like I was drowning in like- fire, except the fire, felt chilly and my body had this weird numb-y feeling-" She paused re-thinking her words. "God, I must sound insane right now" She laughed.
"You should probably get some sleep-'Think you need it" He suggested, trying to slip away from her strong conversing grip.
"Draco- Before you leave, please try to get some work done on the cabinet" The words stung him. He needed to release this overloading guilt, but- he did make plans with a certain fishy creature- But the criminality was far too much to handle
"I-" 'Say the right words, do the right thing'
"Don't worry, I will"
---
The sun was now setting.
'School shift must be over now, right?'
But-
'He probably wanted to meet later tonight- He's just busy, right?'
Or-
'Maybe he's on his way now!'
She smiled at the thought of talking to a real-life person- and not being mocked or put out on display. -But maybe the anticipating thrill is drilling too far into her head- maybe
---
He was sat in between Xeno, Blaise, and Daphne, with his head neatly placed in the palm of his hand. His eyes were wandering nowhere particular- They stopped on a girl with blonde hair and green eyes who seemed to be confidently standing near professor McGonagall
'Strange' He thought, she must be some intern
"Students please, pay attention" The old voice coughed as heads turned around
"I'd like to make a very special announcement today" He glanced across the room, studying the pupils' faces "Our dear professor Rebus Hagrid, will be leaving for the next two terms-" The Hufflepuffs and the Gryffindors erupted into groans and 'no's' of denial and disagreement, whilst only a few Ravenclaws and no Slytherins did the same
"Silence!" The headmaster demanded, raising his two fingers in the air
"Our beloved Rubes Hagrid has an important-" He trailed off "-Issue to deal with"
"-But, do not fret, he will return. But, for now, a new teacher will be taking the position of 'care of magical teachers'" The students heads turned as they saw a tall woman, with shoulder-length dark brown, and piercing blue eyes, walk into the great hall
"-Everyone, please welcome- all the way from Ilvermorny in Massachusetts -Professor Phoebe Albertine"
She made her way to professor Dumbledore and firmly shook his hand, then turned to the students and gave them a bright beam of sunlight, a signature American smile, as one might call it, whilst the students greeted her with a loud cheer of 'welcome'
"Ms. Albertine will also be joining us with a transfer student who shall be sorted today" He announced "If you would all please give a 'Hogwarts welcome'"
Draco scoffed 'The hell is a Hogwarts welcome?'
"-Ms. Este Cherith" The same unrecognizable girl walked over to the chair, as all eyes (specifically male ones) followed her. She walked tall and strutted her way to the small stand, and the hat was carefully placed onto her head.
"Hmm" The hat hummed "-Ambitious one we got- and very greedy" Draco could see her eyes roll at the ridiculous comment
"Well, I think there's no other house better to suit you than- Slytherin!" A monotone cheer left the Slytherin table, as Draco saw Este make her way to sit on the seat right in front of him, next to the faces of Astoria Greengrass, and Millicent Bullstrode.
"Why the bloody hell is a student joining us in the middle of the term?" Draco sneered at Blaise, who was right next to him "Does it matter? I mean look at her" He glanced up and down "-Not really my type but I guarantee you she'll have half the boys of Hogwarts wrapped around her fingers- You know The Cheriths are a very rich pureblood line family- People call them the American Kyriths" Blaise whispered
"You mean the Kyriths that were all killed in that explosion accident" Xeno joined in
Blaise simply nodded "The youngest Kyrith- Anastasia Kyrith I think- They couldn't even find her body in the fire, a shame really, they still think she's alive in some sort of a homeless shelter"
'My parents were there that night' Draco thought, but chose not to say anything as his mind swiftly wandered to his dreadful plans for tonight
Este began making conversation with Astoria, giggling and smiling. While throwing a somewhat dirty look at Daphne Greengrass, Her eyes fell on Draco's as she smirked
"You must be a Malfoy" It came out more as a statement, rather than a question. He firmly nodded, not really interested in talking to her
"Hm" she hummed, observing him "Couldn't really tell from the white hair" She threw sarcastically, Whilst Draco shot daggers towards her
"Now Este, Be nice" Draco looked behind him to see the lady he would now refer to as 'Professor'
"I'm Professor Phoebe Albertine- But I really couldn't care if you guys called me Professor Phoebe, Albertine's a bit too formal" She smiled, her American accent foreign and thick to the rest
Daphne and Xeno flashed a wide smile, Blaise giving a friendly head nod, whilst Draco chose to not acknowledge her presence
"I ask of you Slytherins to take care of Este, she is after all new here" The teacher whispered, turning her head towards her student, although Este seemed to be too busy with a certain Adrienn Puecy.
"Will do" Daphne whispered, loud enough for her to notice
"And- I hope you don't resent me for taking Professor Hagrid's place- Although, by the looks of it- none of you really seem to mind" Xeno and Blaise both let out a snort, as she gave a small chuckle
"Well- I'll see you all on Monday- Oh and I cannot wait to be teaching you about Mermaids and Sirens this week, it truly is a fascinating subject" Draco finally gave his attention to the teacher, only to find her long gone
"She seems really friendly" Blaise stated
"I like her" Daphne replied, smiling
"M' too," Xeno said with a mouth visibly full of mashed potatoes
Both Draco and Daphne gagged at the sight
"Xeno, you truly do disgust me sometimes"
---
Hours felt like years, the sun was now far gone, ready to greet the other side of the country- whilst the boy was nowhere to be found
"How could I be so- so stupid?" She sorrowed to herself
"A human? Really?" Pearls of acid began to leak from her eyes.
She was right below the dock, almost weeping at the sight of no presence- When she heard it-Although, it wasn't the handsome voice she'd memorized like a catchy melody in her head
"'S anyone 'ere" The voice was a thick English accent, older, and sounded like it hadn't coughed in centuries. Cordelia knew this wasn't the voice she knew, so she took a deep dive into the water, still below the dock, trying to get a better look
There he was, tall and 4 times the size of a normal man. His face was 90 percent beard and 10 percent face, his beady eyes and paper-thin lips the only features on display. Cordelia saw him stand on the dock, thinking it might eventually snap as the creaks were so tumultuous. He shadowed the lakes, making the moonlight darker. When she noticed the threads of a large fishnet drape off the floor of the dock
'This is it' She thought 'I'm getting sold to a cheap circus!'
Her heart beat calamitously, Eyes were fluttering like a bird who'd just wet their wings- A familiar rush struck her
The giant seemed to put his hand in the water, testing the waters, then bringing a torch to get a better look at the lake below him -Luckily, she'd been far enough for him not to see her and capture her
He muttered something unclear under his beard, as the ringing in Cordelia's ears was too loud for her to comprehend anything else.
After a couple of minutes, she was sure that he had left, and she quickly swam back to her hidden dome of misery, scolding herself at her thoughtless, incautious behavior, whilst seemingly rewinding the tape, she was found retracing her stone walls, this time, thinking of no one in particular
---
"Patentibus-Quod"
He muttered the unknown spell towards the broken doors. A small spark flew out of his wand, only to bounce off the door and straight back to him, giving his chest a painful sting.
"Bloody fantastic," He said sarcastically, dropping his wand and sitting on the couch with his fingers working between his brows. He'd been at work with this cabinet for hours now, the time was now 11 AM, way past curfew
He could've been chatting up with a mermaid right now- a rather beautiful one, not that it ever mattered
His leg began to bounce unconsciously as visions of the dark lord resurfaced him. Memories of the dark lord giving Draco an evil glare with a wide stretched smirk as he explained his torture methods if Draco could not complete the task
Summer, July: 1995
'Listen closely Draco.' His voice was raw and strained like he'd been screaming for all his life. He spoke with his head held high, His head and neck decorated messily in veins that looked like lightning bolts, veins that looked strong enough to strangle a child.
'Now, I already talked to your partner, Pansy about this- We both know you, the man is in charge' He stated so confidently 'I must admit I was foolish to put a girl on this case- But I know you won't fail me' Draco cringed at his words but masked it with a respectful stare
'I know you're a smart child and you won't fail this assignment-' He circled Draco like a hawk circling its prey '-But, theoretically, if you do-' The threatening tone began to build ever so increasingly
'To put it shortly, You and your lovely mother's screaming will just be my laughter' The dark lord went in detail about exactly what he would do to the both of them, especially his mother- things so heinous, so absurd, so explicit- they were unquotable.
Fabricate images flashed through his head, as 'his' lord whispered in his ear every grain, and every inch of his cynical plan- an overwhelming sense of dread with the inability to breathe struck him like it did so many times. The words became hazy to him as he was in a sort of hypnotic state. His head felt dizzy like his skull were to slowly melt and his brain would magically vanish from existence
Once Draco had been excused to his room, he skipped past his mother, not daring to look her straight in the eye, as all he saw were the images he'd created in his own
He truly was his own worst enemy
---
She sighed miserably staring at the bright moon, with a small grain of hope in her
The water was begging to get colder- and would soon turn solid, as it was now officially the first day of December
This would also mean that this was the last time (until the end of January) she would get a proper look at the waning gibbous
She'd grown a tight relationship with the moon, well- it was more one-sided, she'd ask questions without the intention of gaining an answer, but it was therapeutic in a way
Cordelia thought that he would replace the moon- Or more thoughtfully, be her new moon- One that would actually talk to her
But would it even matter if he was her new moon? For Cordelia could never give him peace
AN: I do not stand for any of the sexist shit that Voldemort said, just his character.