Juliette
The train ride to Platform 9 3/4 felt like forever. The conversations were mainly led by Pansy, which meant that there were dozens of conversation starters about the latest fashion trends and styles.
When we finally arrived at the platform, Draco and I easily spotted my mother and Narcissa, who were waiting for us to Apparate back to the Manor.
Stubbornly, I grabbed my trunk and walked over to where they were standing. My mother pulled me into a tight hug. I let go of my things and hugged her back.
Narcissa hugged Draco as well and he returned the gesture.
When I left for Hogwarts, things were tense between myself and my parents. I hated that they dragged me into this whole mess. Just seeing my mother reminded me all of the feelings that I felt over the summer and immediately put me into a bad mood. The worst part was, that they were proud that I had become them.
After a quick conversation, asking how our term went, we Apparated to the Malfoy Manor.
I felt the usual rush through my body during Apparition which only lasted a few seconds.
And suddenly, we were inside of the Manor. Everything looked the exact same like we never left. In two days, there would be another meeting. Would I have to do the Cruciatus Curse again? Would I be the one being tortured?
Multiple questions went through my head. The pit in my stomach grew larger and larger. I just wanted to Apparate back to King's Cross and stay at Hogwarts, where it was safe. I went off to the room which I stayed in for the entire summer. It was now claimed as "my room."
I plumped myself onto my bed and waved my wand, "Expecto Patronum," I watched as the small dog ran around the room. Often times, I would just produce my Patronus and let it roam around. Expecto Patronum was one of my favourite spells. I found Patronus' quite fascinating, as most people's were different.
"Your Patronus is a dog?" said a boy with blonde hair, leaning against the door with his arms crossed.
I felt a little nervous hearing his voice. I hoped that he wouldn't mention what had happened last night. I didn't want to say anything about it, nor did I want to talk about it.
I looked to my left, "Couldn't bother knocking, could you?" I was quite glad that there wasn't some awkward tension between the two of us.
He smiled, it was a genuine smile, not a smirk, "But knocking is polite, isn't it?"
I scoffed, "Right, and your goal is to always be rude, isn't it?"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. You up for a duel? But I mean, if you don't want to because you're afraid to lose, I can go easy."
"Don't get too cocky Malfoy, because once you lose, I don't want you to end up crying to your father."
He rolled his eyes, and I kept a tight grasp on my wand, following him out the door to an empty room, which we always duelled in.
There were a few chairs and old antiques lying around. I walked to one side of the room, and Draco stayed at the other.
"May the best dueller win," he smirked and we pulled our wands back, pointing them at each other.
I thought of the first spell that came to mind, "Stupefy!"
"Ennervate," the spell was easily countered off of him.
He waved his wand, by the motion, I could tell it was going to be Reducto. Crap. With my free hand I protected my head, and with the swish of my wand, I used Protego. The blast headed back in the direction it came from.
He dodged the spell, but it was so powerful that it still had an impact and hit the chair behind him. I made a mental note that his shield wasn't as strong when he used non-verbal magic.
"Avis!" Several birds flew out of my wand, "Oppugno," and the birds aggressively flew in Draco's direction.
"Protego Totalum!" They flew into his shield, disappearing one by one. "Flipendo!"
Shoot! I thought to myself... how was I supposed to block this?
I tried to dodge it, by moving to my right, but the spell hit me, I was off the ground and had a harsh landing on my stomach.
"Ow! That hu-" And my wand flew out of my hand, caught by Draco, who had used a non-verbal Disarming Charm. He walked up to me and got down to my level.
"Next time, try Impendimenta for easier landing," he tossed me back my wand and I groaned in pain.
"You would've saved me the pain if you did it yourself... thanks a lot, Malfoy," I said sarcastically as I slowly got up, my whole body feeling numb from the harsh landing.
"Not like you didn't deserve it," he smirked.
"I'll get you back Malfoy, don't underestimate me!"
"Yeah, OK Trails, whatever helps you sleep at night," he headed for the door and exited.
"You bloody prick," I muttered while standing up weakly.
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After a few days, Christmas arrived. Normally, I was very excited for Christmas. But this year, Christmas was going to end short. If anything, it was more stressful than any other day. You-Know-Who was supposed to be coming during the evening along with the other Death Eaters.
Presents were probably non-existent. I was used to a Hogwarts Christmas, surrounded by my friends.
I brushed my teeth and wore my plaid pyjama pants with a sweater, and went downstairs. I found Draco already claiming his breakfast from one of the house elves. None of our parents were around yet.
I walked towards him, "Happy Christmas," I said cheerfully.
"Happy Christmas Trails," said Draco, acknowledging my presence. His voice still had a tint of snakiness in it, but it was probably out of habit.
"Yeesh, for this one day you don't have to call me Trails, Malfoy. I'm not going to try to fight you."
He scoffed, "I'll have to pass on that."
I noticed that he held this small, yet nicely wrapped package. "Who's that from?" I asked, smirking at Malfoy.
"None of your business, Trails," he said in an annoyed tone. Then, he glared at me.
"Come on Malfoy, it's Christmas! Who's it from?"
"Your nosiness makes you even more a pain in the ass. It's none of your business, but it's from Parkinson," he said cooly.
"Awwhh! Isn't that cute, she cares for her Drakie-poo!" I teased, mimicking her voice.
"If you ever call me that again, I'll text you," he said in a frustrated tone. "At least I have an admirer."
"I'd rather have no admire at all if it's Parkinson," I retorted. I crossed my arms in an annoyance. "Well go on then, open it up!"
"I think I already know what it is, and I don't want it. Incendio!" A small flame ignited the gift wrapped in parchment. He used his wand to clean the ashes and then began his breakfast at the table.
"Ouch, harsh. You couldn't be more considerate of a girl's feelings?"
"I've tried so hard to be clear to Parkinson. She won't even take a hint. Anyway, I'm doing myself and you a favour. It's probably chocolates with some love potion added in it."
I laughed and brought my meal prepared by the house elves to the table. In the corner, I saw a small gift, with my owl nearby it.
It was messily wrapped. I walked over, inspecting it. There was no note from who it was from or anything. I sat back down at the table, where Draco sat across from me.
"There's no way that's for you. Who's it from?" He asked in a sour tone.
"Why do you seem so surprised? I'm the one that was in an actual relationship... and that lasted for a year. You see, unlike some people, I can attract people with charm and personality. Watch and learn, Malfoy. This is being considerate of other people's feelings," I said with confidence in my voice.
To be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect. There was no note or parchment that came with the gift to indicate who it was from.
I slowly opened up the parchment wrapped around the item. It was a golden locket. Engraved on the locket was an S embedded with green jewels.
I wondered who had given the gift to me. Unless it wasn't for me...
But it had to be for me because my owl had delivered it.
I wondered if there was magic in it. Maybe it was some sort of joke.
I stared at Malfoy who watched me and expected me to retort something at him. I tried to figure out his facial expression. Perhaps this was his idea of a joke or something. "Did you give this to me?" I asked in a more serious tone.
He scoffed, "Why would I waste time on you?"
"If this is your idea of a joke or something, Malfoy, just do the hex. I'm waiting. What's the joke? Is there some sort of serpent inside or something to scare me? Because if there is, then you're very funny."
"Are you mental? Why would I give you a gift? Do you really think that I would spend time planning a gift for you? I don't have time for this kind of stuff anymore, Trails. I thought you'd get that by now."
If it was a joke, he would've cracked by now. I glanced back near my owl and checked the wrapped parchment again. There was no note or anything. "Who would've given me this?" I tried to trace back some sort of connection or conversation I had with anyone about a locket.
Malfoy asked to see the locket, so I gave it to him. He examined it and then handed it back.
"Is there anything inside of it?" He asked. Even Malfoy was intrigued with my new mystery.
I tried to open it with my fingers first, but it wouldn't budge. I pointed my wand at the locket, "Alohomora," I cast, but nothing happened. I repeated the spell again, but nothing happened. "Why won't it open?"
"Not sure. Are you sure it's even safe? Basic spells are supposed to work on these kinds of items."
"Well, nothing has blown up yet, so I think we both could assume that it's safe. For now, at least. I wonder what's inside..."
He asked to see the locket again, so I gave the locket to Draco. He took the locket and inspected it, "Hold on, I've seen this locket before," he looked at it closer. "I just don't remember where."
Then, he slid off of the stool and jogged up the stairs whilst holding the locket. He had no explanation or anything. I joined him and asked where we were going.
He didn't respond. He opened up a closed-door revealing a medium-sized room painted with dark green walls. There was a bed and a desk in the corner of the room. On the large wall, there was a bookshelf filled with many books.
He rushed to his bookshelf and scanned it, searching for a title.
"Accio History of Magical Artifacts," a large book with a dusty cover flew into his hand.
"Somewhere in here... I remember reading about it a while ago."
He flipped through the pages, and read aloud, "One of Salazar Slytherin's most valued items, the golden locket."
Draco put the real locket beside the photographed one. It couldn't be. "No... who would give me an item that was once Salazar Slytherin's? I'm not even related to him."
He shrugged and continued reading the passage.
"Centuries ago, it was rumoured that one of Salazar Slytherin's most prized possessions was his locket. He wore it on a daily basis and has been proven to resemble protection to any true Slytherin who has possession of it.
For centuries, the locket was passed through his family. Generation to generation the locket was passed. Somehow, it made it's way to Borgin and Burke for an unknown reason. The owner of Borgin and Burke during the early 1900's claimed that a young boy had given the locket to him for a great bargain.
Years later, the precious artefact was reported to be stolen. It has been lost since.
Salazar Slytherin's heirs believed that there was something that could open the locket, but in none of their lifetimes have solved this mystery. Some believe that someday, a Slytherin will be able to seek the secrets hidden inside of it unleashing a monster within that will only respond to that person."
I re-read the sentences over and over. Why would someone give me this? Maybe it was a mistake. I was never a part of Salazar Slytherin's bloodline. I never sought the locket either, so how did I end up with it?
I thought hard about who would have sent it to me and why. "Let's go to the duelling room."
I laid the locket down in the middle of the room.
Draco pointed his wand at the locket. "Alohomora," but nothing happened.
I pointed my wand at the locket too and cast the same spell, "Alohomora," I spoke clearly, but it didn't budge. "What the hell's wrong with this thing? It should still open, even if we weren't 'true' Slytherins..."
"What if it opened up to someone else in the past?" asked Draco.
"Someone had to have resealed it," I added. The pieces were beginning to click. "What if the beast was the basilisk and Voldemort was the one who got the locket to open in the first place? What if he was the boy that gave the locket back to Borgin and Burke when he was finished with it?"
Neither of us spoke for a few moments as we both were taking in and processing the information. But why was it sent to me?
Screw it, I thought. "Alohomora! Alohomora! Alohomora!"
"Calm down, Trails!" Draco exclaimed.
"I need to know what was so important that whoever had it last, had to conceal it! Why was it sent to me? I don't even want to be a Slytherin! Did someone think that I would be the one able to open it or something? Or did they think it was a funny joke?" I said angrily.
I had no idea who it came from, what was inside of it, nor who I could ask to help me.
"Relax! It's just a stupid locket!"
"It's not stupid! It's Salazar Slytherin's! It's valuable, and I want to know why it was sent to me! It won't even open!" I was so frustrated that I took a step back from the locket and told Malfoy to move.
"What do you mean 'move'?" He asked in confusion. He stared at me mortified at what I was about to do next.
"Just do it!" I hissed. He moved away from the locket. "Stupefy!" Nothing happened. The locket just moved a few meters away.
"Reducto!" I kept on walking towards it, shouting different curses at it, but mainly switching between Reducto and Stupefy.
"Trails, stop it!" Draco yelled, trying to get a hold of my wand.
I lowered my wand, "Why was it sent to me? Is this some sort of message or signal? What am I supposed to do? What if I'm in danger?"
Draco stared at me and said nothing.
It almost seems like everything that I've said may have just been real.