"What did your parents say again?" Draco let out an exaggerated sigh and looked up from his notebook in which he had been working for the book.
"Pansy, for the millionth time, Nicholas Flamel is a well-known alchemist for having the only real Philosopher's Stone in his possession," he explained to her for what felt like too often. "Have you gone deaf or something?"
Pansy shook her head. "I've just been thinking..." Draco sighed and rolled his eyes, returning to his work.
Harry Potter received an Invisi—
Pansy fell from the bed.
Draco started in surprise. He jumped off his chair and walked over to the girl on the ground. "Merlin, Pansy, what's gotten into you?" he asked as he pulled her to her feet.
Pansy was grinning widely. "I finally understand it!" she beamed excitedly at him.
"Understand what?"
Pansy sat down on Draco's bed and gestured for him to do the same. As he took his seat, she started her explanation.
"The Philosopher's Stone can turn any metal into pure gold, but also produces the Elixir of Life. If that's what they're hiding at Hogwarts, and what needs such strong protection, there's only one possible reason Quirrell would want to steal it for."
Draco looked down in thoughts. She was right, but why could Quirrell, who was still a Hogwarts teacher, want the stone for anything else except to become rich? They had addressed that possibility before, but never settled for it, because it seemed too absurd. Except... No, that's not possible. Or, is it...
"The Dark Lord, that's who he's working for," Pansy whispered, leaning closer to Draco, who looked up at her, shocked, but not too shocked. He still didn't fully understand it, though.
"But how can he work for him, though?" he asked her thoughtfully. She shrugged.
"One can only guess what goes on in the mind of the Dark Lord."
After his talk with Pansy, he had abandoned his work to dig deeper in on the possibilities. They were almost sure Quirrell wanted to steal the stone for the Dark Lord, but all their ideas of how they communicated and planned seemed impossible.
Now, at midnight, Draco couldn't sleep as his mind clouded with questions. None answered. There was also the thing about his father acting suspicious that had caught his attention. He turned on his side, staring into the darkness of his room. He sighed and turned around again, but found nothing interesting to focus on in the alike darkness.
He sighed once more before giving up and sat up, taking his wand and lighting the candle on his bedside table. He took the book from there and continued reading the twelfth chapter, The Mirror of Erised.
He read, entranced, as Potter saw his family in that mirror. He was smiling slightly, happy for the boy who finally found out at least what his parents looked like, even though he knew reviving someone was impossible.
At the part about Weasley, though, he couldn't care less and even got slightly irritated at his behaviour towards Potter.
He became more attentive as Dumbledore explained about the mirror, silently wondering what his reflection would show him. He almost decided to go and find the mirror himself after break ended, but dismissed it as Dumbledore told Potter that the mirror would be replaced the next day, which had already passed for him.
With a slight sense of disappointment, he put away the book, extinguished the candle, and lay down in his bed. He soon fell asleep, but it was a restless sleep, scary and disrupting scenes clouding his dreams.
Draco didn't know why but he awoke even more tired than before he went to sleep, of which he was sure was far past midnight. Pansy woke him up that morning, reminding him they should continue working on the book and its mystery. They only had five days left, six until the start of term, to work on it and had decided to use their time well.
Right after breakfast, they made their way upstairs towards Draco's bedroom. It was a big, rectangular room with a big king-sized bed in the middle of it, black hangings and light green covers. The walls were lined with mostly bookshelves, making their own small library. A big crystal chandelier, sending of a soft light hung from the ceiling. The walls and ceiling were painted a light shade of silver, while the door and floor comprised a dark-coloured wood.
They sat down on the bed, and Draco started talking.
"I finished the chapter last night—"
"This morning," Pansy corrected. Draco narrowed his eyes as a sign to not interrupt him.
"—and I found out about this Mirror of Erised. It's a mirror that shows the deepest desires of our hearts. Potter saw his family in it. Dumbledore said that it was being moved the next day and that, if he found it again, he will be prepared for it."
"So that means it has something to do with the stone..." Pansy considered thoughtfully. It did make sense, in Draco's opinion, though he did not quite understand how.
They weren't done listing their possibilities, and the day had already ended. They continued doing this until the day they had to return to Hogwarts. On the platform, they saw Granger, and though they both gave her a dirty look, she merely nodded at them, looking at Draco apprehensively.
Draco and Pansy took a seat in an empty compartment, prepared to start the long ride towards Hogwarts, as the door was slid open. In the opening stood Granger, hands on her waist but not looking too sure of herself. She eyed Pansy warily before turning her attention on Draco.
"I need to have a word with you," she stated calmly, gesturing to the compartment next doors. Draco sighed and nodded, giving Pansy a smile and following Granger out, the book tucked beneath his arm to keep it safe.
They entered the empty compartment, and Granger took a seat, gesturing to Draco to do the same. He sat down opposite her.
"What's your deal with Harry?" she asked out of nowhere, catching Draco slightly off guard.
"What are you talking about, Granger?" he returned, raising an eyebrow. She sighed.
"I know there's something going on, Malfoy, just tell me. What's your deal with Harry?" she repeated, troubling to keep her voice calm.
"I don't know what you mean," he responded briskly, and he really didn't. What deal would he have with Potter?
"Then how do you know he lives with Muggles?" she questioned, now catching Draco fully off guard and making him unable to mask his surprised expression which he knew was visible on his face.
He sighed. He shouldn't tell her but — "It's a secret," he went with, staring at the girl in front of him uncertainly.
She smiled slightly. "That must be, and I'll keep it that way, but I would appreciate if you at least told me." Her voice was almost pleading and Draco faltered, taking the book from beneath his arm and showing it to her, knowing she would see only white. She raised an eyebrow and looked up at him, silently demanding an explanation.
"This is how I know about it," he explained, his voice soft as he remembered the night Dumbledore gave it to him. "I received it from the Headmaster on my first day here. No one else beside me can read it. You made me find out about that, though.
"It's about Potter, following his life. Pansy and I have been following it, even studying it, as Dumbledore had asked me. It's prepared me for what I had to say twenty-four hours in advance. Neither Pansy nor I know what exactly it is, though, and we're just blindly following it."
After he finished his explanation, she took the book from his outstretched hands and examined it. "Strange," she whispered thoughtfully. "I've never heard of such a thing before." She handed him the book back.
"Neither have I."
Granger stood up, and so did Draco. Granger held out her hand.
"I understand it if you don't want to be friends, but let us at least not be enemies when we're alone," she said, smiling, "Draco."
"When we're alone," he agreed, glad to befriend the girl, and shook her hand, "Hermione."
They left the compartment and parted ways, Gran—Hermione down the train and Draco back to Pansy, where he explained about what happened between him and Hermione. He had completely forgotten to tell her Pansy could also know.
After their talk on the train, Draco hadn't talked with Hermione anymore, only when she was with her friends did he feel the need for it. He mostly kept to himself, or tried to make fun of others as much as possible, mostly of Potter.
His last meeting with Dumbledore had been quite... strange? Dumbledore hadn't said a thing about Draco's strange behaviour on how the holidays went. For him, it was obvious he was hiding something, but to the old man it seemed the most natural thing that someone is a stuttering mess and almost unable to form coherent sentences while telling someone else how their holidays had gone.
Draco was brought out of his thought by a figure making its way out of the library.
"Ah, Longbottom," Draco sneered, having waited outside for the Gryffindor. Said boy turned around and looked up at Draco, fear flickering in his eyes. "Just the one I was looking for."
He shifted on his feet, and Draco's smirk grew bigger. "Not so brave for a Gryffindor, now, are you?" Draco laughed before raising his wand at the trembling boy. "I was looking for someone to test this on," he drawled.
"No, please, don't!" Longbottom exclaimed, walking backwards.
Draco's eyes narrowed at his target. "Too late. Locomotor Mortis!"
Longbottom's legs sprang together, and he fell backwards on the stone floor.
Draco turned around, feeling slightly sick of what he had just done, and walked away, leaving the poor target alone, on the ground.
The start of term had been calm with not much happening aside his little... talk with Longbottom, but Draco had found a very good reason to be where he was now; standing in front of the door to his godfather's office, waiting to be given entrance.
The door opened, and Snape appeared in its opening. "Draco?" he started, sounding quite surprised.
"I need to talk to you," Draco answered, looking up at his godfather.
"Of course," he responded, holding open the door for Draco to enter. Snape took a seat behind his desk as Draco sat down on the chair in front of it.
"So," Severus started, looking at Draco apprehensively while leaning towards him, elbows resting on the wooden desk, "what is the reason for this sudden visit, Draco?"
Draco shifted. "Is it true you are refereeing the next match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff?" he asked in one breath, returning Severus' look. He nodded. "Why?"
Snape responded with a slight smirk. "First, who do you have that information from?" he returned. Draco groaned inwardly.
"The book," he said in an undertone, wary for eavesdroppers though knowing his godfather's office was a secure location.
Snape nodded thoughtfully. "You've figured out quite a deal already, haven't you?" Draco raised an eyebrow, wondering which deal he was talking about. "About the stone and... Professor Quirrell," he explained, looking pained at just saying his name. Draco nodded.
"I'm refereeing to make sure he doesn't try anything," he stated bluntly, eyes shifting to the side in a manner of shame. Draco nodded again.
"So that's why... You're only making him nervous, you know. His friends tried persuading him to not play," he said calmly, holding his godfather's gaze, who sighed.
"I am aware, Draco, very. But it is the only thing I can do. No one would believe it if I said Quirrell was trying to steal the stone and eliminate Potter," he said, sounding defeated.
"They suspect you, though. Of trying to steal the stone, I mean," Draco said.
"I'm aware, but it's a good thing they think so, it gives me free roam." Draco nodded thoughtfully. He gave Severus a small smile before standing up, nodding his goodbye, and leaving, heading towards the Slytherin Dormitories to inform Pansy.
He was on his way to his Dormitories as voices from a nearby hallway pulled his attention. He followed the muffled voices, having a hushed conversation. As he neared, the voices became clearer.
"We still have to be quiet, though..." one of them was saying. In Draco's eyes, he sounded a lot like Oliver Wood, captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. But what would Wood be doing down in the dungeons?
"No one ever comes here, Oliver," another voice said. Marcus Flint, fifth year and captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team.
"Still..." Wood tried to argue.
"Don't worry about the Slytherins, I'm sure they would be fine with it," Flint reassured him. Draco was hiding behind the corner, listening to the voices with his topmost attention.
"All right..." Wood gave in, and Draco's curiosity got the best of him. He looked around the corner and had to stifle a gasp of surprise.
There, just around the corner, were the captains of Gryffindor and Slytherin, rivals through even war. Wood pushed up against the wall, Flint pushing him against it. Their lips connected, and they didn't look fond of stopping.
Despite himself, Draco smiled. Flint was a Slytherin, and though this would seem like a crime to other houses, Slytherin house loyalty sometimes rivalled Hufflepuff's. He turned around and walked away, leaving the two fifth years be.
In the common room, he couldn't resist calling the attention of every Slytherin as he walked in. Most of them looked at him strangely, some apprehensively. "I have some interesting news," he started, his voice loud enough to reach the back of the room. "One of our dear Slytherins has got himself a Gryffindor boyfriend!"
Many whispers broke out in the room, but none were filled with disgust, just curiosity. A fourth year spoke up. "Who?" she asked eagerly. Draco gave her a quick glance before turning back towards the group at large.
"Marcus Flint and Oliver Wood," he said, stalking towards Pansy before to his dorm, accompanied by her, leaving the room in its whispered chaos.
"Flint and Wood? I would have never guessed!" Pansy exclaimed throwing herself on Draco's bed.
"Likewise, until I found them snogging in a deserted corridor," he said, grinning slightly.
"It's nice though," she said, smiling, before turning serious. "Now, how was your talk with Snape?"
Late that night when he couldn't sleep, Draco decided to read the newest part of the book. He had only read up until the part where he had to curse Longbottom and suddenly hadn't wanted to continue anymore. He pulled his hangings closed and took the book from his nightstand, using Lumos to light the pages.
Draco smiled. Potter finally found it, and it was just like Hermione to have a useful book at the ready. Reading the information about Flamel in the book, Draco marked it so he could keep it for later use.
He shook his head slowly as he read about the trio still suspecting Severus. Why couldn't they see it was Quirrell, and not Snape, who wanted to steal the bloody stone?
It made him proud to see that the Gryffindor was not backing down from his Quidditch challenge, and, seeing as the sentences had ended, he put away the book, extinguished the light with a whispered "Nox,", and fell into a relaxed sleep.