Mischief
Days passed, and Juliet found herself increasingly on edge, waiting for Draco to pull her back into his manipulations. Every time she saw him in the corridors or caught sight of his platinum blonde hair from across the Great Hall, her stomach twisted. He hadn't made any demands since their last conversation, but she knew it was only a matter of time.
Then, one evening, he cornered her in the Slytherin common room when most of the students had gone to bed. Juliet had been lounging on one of the couches, trying to unwind after a particularly grueling day of pretending everything was fine. She hadn't noticed Draco approaching until he was already standing over her.
"We need to talk," he said, his voice low and commanding.
Juliet rolled her eyes but sat up. "What now, Malfoy? Haven't I done enough?"
Draco didn't sit. He crossed his arms and looked down at her, his face expressionless. "Not quite. I need you to do something else for me."
Juliet tensed. "I thought we were done with this."
"You thought wrong," Draco replied, his tone sharp. "Unless you want Snape and the entire school knowing about the little party you threw that nearly got a Slytherin killed."
Juliet glared at him but said nothing. She hated that he had her trapped, and she hated even more that he knew exactly how to wield that power against her.
Draco continued, ignoring her silent protest. "I need you to gather information from the Ravenclaws. Some of their parents work closely with the Ministry, and they might have overheard something. There's a rumor going around that Dumbledore's planning to make a move soon, and I need to know what it is."
Juliet raised an eyebrow. "Dumbledore? Why do you care what he's doing?"
Draco's eyes darkened. "Let's just say it's in my best interest to keep an eye on the old man. He's too involved in things that don't concern him."
Juliet frowned. "And how am I supposed to get this information? The Ravenclaws aren't exactly my crowd."
"That's your problem," Draco said with a shrug. "Figure it out. You're resourceful when you want to be."
Juliet huffed, but before she could retort, Draco turned and started to walk away. Then, as if remembering something, he glanced back at her, his expression unreadable.
"And Van Der Hart," he added, "don't think you can just pass off some half-baked story. I'll know if you're lying. You wouldn't want to test me on that."
With that, he left her alone in the dimly lit common room, leaving Juliet fuming. The worst part was that he was right — she couldn't afford to defy him, not with everything he knew about her. And as much as she hated being under Draco's thumb, a small part of her couldn't deny the thrill that came with being a part of his schemes, even if she was just a pawn.
The next day, Juliet began her mission. She tried to get close to the Ravenclaw students, using her charm and popularity to slip into their conversations. It wasn't long before she found herself sitting next to Cho Chang and a few of her friends in the library, pretending to study while eavesdropping on their discussion.
"...my mum says Dumbledore's been acting strange lately," Cho was saying quietly. "She thinks he's hiding something, but no one's sure what it is."
Another Ravenclaw, a boy named Terry Boot, nodded. "I heard my parents talking about it too. There's been a lot of secret meetings at the Ministry lately. Something big is going on, but they're keeping it under wraps."
Juliet pretended to be engrossed in her book, but her mind was racing. This was exactly the kind of information Draco wanted. She stayed silent, listening as the Ravenclaws continued to speculate, but nothing concrete came up beyond what she'd already overheard.
Later that evening, Juliet found Draco in the Slytherin common room again. He was sitting by the fire, reading one of his textbooks, but he looked up as she approached.
"Well?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
Juliet sighed and sat down opposite him. "Dumbledore's definitely up to something. The Ravenclaws don't know much, but they mentioned secret meetings at the Ministry. It's all hush-hush, but it sounds like something big is happening."
Draco's eyes narrowed. "That's it? No details?"
"None," Juliet replied, crossing her arms. "That's all I could get. It's not like they're going to spill their secrets to me."
Draco studied her for a moment, as if weighing the truth of her words. Finally, he nodded. "Fine. It'll do for now."
Juliet exhaled in relief, but the tension between them didn't ease. Draco might have accepted the information for now, but she knew he wasn't done with her. He would keep using her for as long as he could, and she wasn't sure how much longer she could handle being under his thumb.
But as she stood to leave, Draco spoke again, his voice quieter this time.
"You're not as useless as I thought, Van Der Hart," he said, his eyes flickering with something she couldn't quite place. "Don't screw it up."
Juliet glanced at him, surprised by the almost-compliment, but she quickly masked her reaction. "Thanks, I guess."
As she walked away, a strange feeling settled in her chest. Draco Malfoy was still as infuriating and arrogant as ever, but something had shifted between them. It wasn't trust, not even close, but there was a recognition — an acknowledgment that they were both playing a dangerous game, and for now, they were in it together.