Granger II Uncrowned
June 1995
"What brings you to me, Miss Graves?" Albus Dumbledore asked as he checked his mail, which had just been delivered by the ministerial owl. "Prophet" is still in business.
“You are the only one who can help me. I can't just go to the Ministry and tell them everything. There has never been a single case of someone devoid of magic returning,” she replied, throwing a red checkered blanket over herself. “Running from the Malfoys, I had little time to think about who to turn to ...
"Did someone see you?" looking up from the empty leafing of the newspaper, said the magician.
"Only one person. He was quite young, most likely the new heir of the Malfoys ... " the girl said. "I immediately disappeared into the fireplace. I don't think he had time to remember me".
“You need to be more careful,” the old man said, after listening to the whole story first.
"Would you like tea with lemon wedges? Although, why these empty talk!"
He waved his wand, and in a fraction of a second papers and letters were gone from the table, replaced by cups of tea and a whole tray of treats. Evening had almost given way to day, and in the distance one could even see the sunset. The cup pleasantly burned the hands of the young sorceress.
The girl looked even a little younger than her young years, her pretty face was the same as thirty-three years ago. The last time she celebrated her sixteen, and then time stopped for her. The game has started again.
“Lucy, we still have a lot to discuss, but how do you look at finishing your training program here at Hogwarts now,” the headmaster said, showing the full power of his school. “There is no need to go back to America for this, because school is now the safest place! Your mind could help us in some undertakings...
***
September 1995
The Gryffindor table was still noisy. The Golden Trio were immediately visible as all the Weasleys were next to them. They were in their fifth year, which meant that they were the ones who had to pass the OWL this year. Dumbledore sent our guest on the same course, asking if possible to keep an eye on the trio. During the next conversation over a cup of tea, he mentioned the search for dark artifacts and that the Ministry wants to get involved in the affairs of the school.
Not to attract too much attention is her main task. Lucy used to be adventurous, too adventurous. Her parents moved to America when things were not going well in England: the war, the wizards were tired of fighting, and many families were running out of strength and capital.
Later, the Ilvermorny school discovered great potential in her, she was part of the delegation to the tournament from America in Durmstrag. Karkaroff admired the young sorceress, even more than once offered to go over to their side - cunning, smart, dexterous and the owner of incredibly strong magic. He gave it into the hands of the Lord, for which he received his mark as a sign of devotion.
The sorceress longed for revenge for the betrayal, but was in no hurry to distribute debts.
How much did you manage to restore your magic, Miss Graves? asked the director again.
“Most of what I could do,” Lucy snapped. "Professor, if you're trying to test my Legilimency skills, they're consistently good." My teacher said that it's not just magic, it's...
“Talent,” the man finished for her, “Yes, yes, a unique talent!”
“You said, Professor, that it is dangerous to look for any connection with the past, but I would like to know only one thing…” she did not fully comprehend whether she wanted to ask this question, but there is no turning back, “what happened to my parents?
"I would not want to tell you such news, but no mention of them after the time of Voldemort's first attempts to seize power ..."
"He is back? " a very quiet voice asked.
"It had to happen…"
Hey, are you new? Or maybe after the last tournament, you heard a lot about Hogwarts and decided to go to the best magical school?!
"We have the best guys here, especially in Gryffindor!" - the second phrase, addressed to the girl, has finally pulled her out of her own thoughts. On either side of the girl were the Weasley twins. She tried to study the current representatives of the main magical families in England.
"I'm here because of moving to England", answers to such questions were also prepared. "Would you like to introduce yourself first?"
"Fred and George Weasley!" the brothers said and bowed theatrically to their new acquaintance. After that, the smile never left her face. They really were that other couple, although a complete mess was going on in their heads.
“Miss Lucy Graves,” the girl said as she got up from the table and made a slight curtsy. Her robes were gleaming in rich black, and on her feet were low-heeled boots of the same color.
Graves had to work on her appearance: her hair took on a rich dark hue, only the front strands framed her face and were light white, reminiscent of who she really was. The girl was afraid to be too recognizable, but there will be no second such chance.
The Weasleys told her a little about everyone, dropping a couple of compliments between sentences. She watched the people in the hall and did not notice anything strange - everything. They were already addicted to food and drink. And only at the Slytherin table could one see familiar snow-white hair. Allowing herself another quick glance in his direction, Lucy noticed that the youth's thoughts were locked with a thousand locks. He is far from an open book.
After talking to the Weasleys to her heart's content, she managed to discuss with Hermione how different education is in America and ask for a tour of the library. Without new acquaintances, the newly minted Gryffindor would not be able to exist in this castle.
***
“Yes, Miss…?” McGonagle said, reacting to her raised hand. Minerva didn't understand why Albus needed to protect this girl, but she certainly wasn't the last person in the wizarding world.
“Miss Graves,” she immediately blurted out, “so, with the help of transfiguration, you can change your appearance, some magicians have achieved such skill that they were able to surpass even Polyjuice Potion in effect, one of the spells is Herbiforce. Turns hair into flowers, by the way.
10 points to Gryffindor! Minerva said proudly, “So let’s continue…
"New Granger!" A low, angry voice came from behind. - How many such bores the world wears!
"You start with insults right away, Malfoy?" flashed through his mind. Is he going crazy?! No, his conscience would not have overtaken him so young. It felt like someone was reading his mind. Very skillfully, from afar.
“And you can get into my head, then?” he whispered to himself, even catching Knott's wary gaze.
“It was not difficult…” – the same voice. He did not understand where he had given up. He studied Legilimency with the best teachers, his defense was strong...
"Mr. Malfoy, you will be answering the question..." Minerva asked for the second time, her eyes lingering on the young man. - Minus 5 points to Slizaren! Continue, Miss Granger, please...
"Damn!" he thought to himself as he cleared his mind and closed all the shutters on his thoughts again.
***
Having intercepted the brunette on the way to the Great Hall, Malfoy immediately rounded the first nearest corner. He could not leave this incident unattended.
“I don’t care what you are doing here and who you are pretending to be!” he said. "Don't you dare mess with my head!"
- This is a threat? She lifted her chin, she said. - You were the first to start our acquaintance with insults, if you please.
“Listen, you don’t need to boast here and show that you are the best. There are enough of them without you! Let there be some legiliment out of you, but I'm not going to stand aside either! His grip only tightened, Draco subconsciously still holding her hand, afraid of running away. "Oh yeah, sorry, I forgot to introduce myself - Draco Lucius Malfoy!" Titles to list all or just those that you have not yet found in my head?
- Rummaging through your head is not my goal, I'm not your sniffer dog! Lucy said. “I was just projecting my words to you!” And now, with your permission, Mr. Malfoy, I will leave your company.
"Don't you even introduce yourself?" – looking into the eyes of Graves, asked Malfoy. "Devil," as he called her to himself, was definitely not as stupid as some might think. Although, an aristocrat would not have such a squabble with him.
“I don’t have the slightest desire! Tearing her hand out of his grasp, she disappeared into the crowd of Ravenclaws.
An amazing Gryffindor: she didn't have a single house color except for the badge on her robe. Malfoy should write to his father, find out what he knows about this Miss "I've been in your head" Graves.
***
“Why are you sad, Miss Granger Second, Uncrowned!” Fred asked, sitting next to him on the sofa in the living room, now their common faculty.
"Oh no! This nickname is not for me! she blurted out. “Although I love practical exercises, all these essays and rewriting of historical facts are not for me!”
"I understand ... " the guy drawled, sitting more comfortably.
"Oh, Freddie, am I disturbing you here? Who are you kidding that you love to study?!" on the chair, as if by a wave of a wand, George appeared. "Are you coming to see the Quidditch team tryouts? Or do you want to participate?"
"I will think about this offer. Perhaps I’ll go, I won’t bother you", Lucy realized that she definitely wouldn’t work in such an atmosphere. Turning around, she added, "And don't call me another Hermione, I didn't even think about taking her place as the leader of visiting the library!"
"There's definitely something in her..."
***
Do you know the feeling when thousands of thoughts are confused in your head, and you still can’t find a solution? What if all these thoughts are someone else's? If we talk about how the first week at the school of witchcraft went, it was very mediocre. Introductory lessons, repetition of the material.
Most thoughts were occupied by Umbridge - she demanded discipline and control. Unable to withstand the influx of thoughts about the despotic lady, Lucy, having sketched out a short note by hand, moved to the owlery. Friday evening allowed us to slowly walk towards the tower.
"Tired of chatting with Saint Potter's friends?" - almost near the exit from the castle, she stumbled upon Malfoy. He sat on the windowsill and held a broom in his hands. The girl passed by without answering. "Or maybe you want to sit him on the Quidditch team?"
"No, I don't mean it." Graves finally stopped when Draco blocked her path. - Will you get out of the way?
"Afraid you won't be back before lights out?"
“No, I’m not afraid,” Lucy answered, raising her chin up. They were almost the same height. - Are you interrogating?
- I think the Ministry would do well to know who it is returning to England at such an unfavorable time for moving, - he sensed a catch, - There is not a single mention of you in any reports.
“As you can see, not all of us belong to the Elite, whose lives are recorded in great detail.
- Legilimentis! flashed past her as Lucy stepped around Draco.
— Protego! she replied, being ready for such a move. "Aren't you ashamed to attack a lady from behind?"
"Non-verbal legilimency is only given to purebloods," said the boy who stood not far from her. “You are very good at dodging and reading people. This is more than just a skill, such a gift is quite rare. Where does so much knowledge come from?
He knew a lot, as he lived in the open access to the magical world since childhood. He knew the fine lines and features of wizards. Their personal conversation was interrupted by Filch, in particular his beloved pet.
- Who is this? Pointing her wand at Malfoy's feet, the brunette froze in place. Taking a step back to check what kind of creature got under his feet, the guy stepped on the cat's tail. Mrs. Noriss, in turn, did not find anything better than to bite him on the ankle. It seemed that Filch was somewhere nearby and quickened his pace when he heard such a cry from his pet.
“Let’s get out of here,” grabbing the Slytharin by the arm, she dragged him to another exit from the castle, finding the first class she came across. Leaving him at the mercy of Filch, with the prospect of working off, was a great idea, but he could hand it over with him. Catching the thoughts of others, especially the school supply manager, turned out to be very helpful. “Once Filch crosses to another part of the castle, everyone goes where they went.
“Uh-huh, I just wrote it all down right there!
- Do not look at me so!
“If you really wanted to be alone with me, then…”
"Shut up, Malfoy!" she snapped. "And remember the day the Gryffindors started saving your ass in this castle walls!"
“Don’t ask, I won’t thank you,” he threw out, putting the broom on the table. The classroom has hardly been used recently, too much dust on the shelves.
She looked out the window, her hand folded in front of her. It was already quite late and the only way to send a letter was to hurry. Malfoy looked down at his bitten leg, realizing that going to Madam Pomfrey would be like turning himself in the act.
"Aren't you afraid to stand with your back to me now?" Draco asked as he sat down on the table beside him. In response, only a negative nod. How many years have you developed this gift?
“Always,” she blurted out, looking straight into gray eyes. - I was taught from early childhood, I myself wanted this. And you? You wanted to be a legilliment?
“My ancestors had a predisposition, it can be useful,” he says, looking away. Went away from the answer.
- Do you play Quidditch?
“Trapper,” he blurted out, not even realizing why he was talking to this girl. - Here you are!
At the last moment, he pulled out a small ball from his pocket and threw it in her direction. Lucy did manage to catch him, albeit without dexterity or grace. On her palm is a small ball trimmed with leather. With a little effort of non-verbal magic, he hovered a couple of centimeters from the palm of his hand.
Why not Slytherin? - gray eyes lingered on the enchanted ball that flew into his hand. Amazing this non-verbal magic. It was difficult for Lucy to learn this, not everything worked out right away. Only light and small objects - everything that so far succumbed to her.
"I got an analogue of the faculty of my last school. When I passed the selection, the roads to three of the four faculties were opened to me, as a child I really wanted to be under the auspices of the thunder bird!" the girl threw only a short glance, "Stop trying to get into my head, Malfoy! It's unpleasant, you know, when someone doesn't just knock, but immediately breaks in!"
Graves stormed out of the office slamming the door. Malfoy, though despised by many, but his interest in all her secrets is obvious. He climbed into the soul with pincers in order to find out the answers to his questions. But what was the purpose of all these manipulations?
"Look, your letter!" A rough voice nearby made her slow down.
"Are you my personal owl now?" But no, rather an owl. Or even a peacock!
"Excellent knowledge of birds, but I will get to the bottom of the truth - who are you and why are you here", he was angry, Lucy had enough and a couple of phrases to bring Malfoy into conflict. “Good evening, half-breed, what do you think you are…”
Throwing the letter on the floor, Draco disappeared into the hallways of the castle as quickly as he had arrived. Taking out her wand and levitating the parchment into her hands, Lucy continued on her way towards Gryffindor Tower.
After warming herself by the fire for half an hour, flipping through a couple of pages of a Transfiguration textbook, and putting away the Ministry's new DADA book, she fell into a sound sleep. The letter remained unsent, the girl did not even check if Malfoy had opened it.
***
And only in Malfoy Manor Lucius was not up to sleep. After reading such a short message, he took out a bottle of fresh firewhisky, locked the door to the office and told the elves not to appear. A printing charm was placed on the letter, although the son most often wrote briefly and by hand.
This message was also short. Is it content? Enough. He still doubted it was Draco's handwritten letter, since any signature was missing. Once again examining these incomprehensible scribbles for any identifying marks, Lucius threw it into the fireplace and watched as the fire consumed the words.
The Gryffindors were quite friendly, especially the Weasleys...
The fire consumed everything, leaving only ashes. Lucius thought about where the note had come from for a moment. Already late at night, he quietly stepped towards the bedroom so as not to wake Narcissa. Too much has fallen on the shoulders of his wife lately, and he tried to hide the obvious fact for her - the war will soon be on the threshold.
And only the peacocks remained hungry that night, because their owner has been too busy lately with his aristocratic and secret affairs...
***
Hermione sat next to Lucy while the teams in each house had their Quidditch tryouts. With occasional glances at everyone who was queuing up to try out for the Hunters, they cheered Ginny on. Hermione shared with her everything she knew about teachers: who needs to turn in an essay only on time, how mischievous Professor Snape, because he only loves his little vipers.
How do you like Umbridge? Lucy asked as she watched Ginny's samples.
“Terrible,” said the brown-haired woman. “She sent Harry to work right after the first class!” She gave him a quill that writes with blood…” the girl spoke softly as she exhaled.
“Is this the safest method of the Ministry…”
“Where did she come from,” she slammed her diary shut as she finished the Gryffindor prefects’ duty schedule, “Harry doesn’t want to go tell Dumbledore everything, he says he has too much to do.
Looks like Ginny is doing great! the brunette remarked when the Weasley twins were testing the future hunter of the lion faculty. She's too good not to take.
"Yes, that's for sure. Too bad the same cannot be said for Ron, it looks like his attempts to get into the team this year will not be successful."
“But you don’t…” Graves didn’t have time to finish when she was interrupted.
"No, we're just friends," Granger waved her off, looking down at her book. Herbalism, it seems. “Anyway, Ron asked me to the Yule Ball last year as a backup. I still, somewhere in my soul, cannot forgive him for this.
“Yes, but I heard rumors that some Bulgarian, Viktor Kramm, didn’t seem to waste time,” the girl said with a smile.
It was easy for them to communicate from the first day they met. Back in the summer, they met a couple of times at the headquarters of the Order, and at Hogwarts they hit it off. Lucy even apologized to Hermione, trying to nip all the "Granger Second, Uncrowned" jokes in the bud.
“We have slightly different interests,” the brown-haired woman muttered under her breath.
“Do you think the twins will manage to hit Malfoy at least once, as if by accident?”
"I hope they will think with their own heads and understand that this trick will not lead to anything good."
“I suggest that we go to Ginny and slowly head towards the castle, otherwise it’s already getting cool,” looking at the sky, you could really make sure that it was completely covered with blue clouds. Autumn this year will definitely be rainy.
Walking down to the field, Hermione walked towards the dressing rooms to invite the redhead to come with them and chat a little more. Graves stayed outside, helping to box the Ravenclaw team captain's blunger and lock the ball. Later, Lucy wanted to rush the girls, but she was stopped on her way to the locker rooms.
“I knew you wanted to sit Potter up!” - the same owner of ashen hair was in front of her. “Sorry, I’m a little late for the qualifiers. Here, I could try out in Slytherin, you see, the team captain in my face thought about it!
She wanted to go around him, but the guy did not let her do this, but only burned with his eyes:
“I don’t know what kind of vanilla snot you wrote there in your letter, but you were lucky that my father didn’t take it seriously.” And yes, what did you do with that other letter I gave you? Who did you send it to?
"I'm not going to answer to you," she blurted out.
Who did you send it to? Trust me, I'll find a way to turn the Gryffindor tower over to find the letter if I need to.
“Great,” Graves said, hearing the voices of her friends somewhere in the distance. “I’m expecting a pogrom today at midnight, don’t be late!”
"We'll talk later"! throwing only a short phrase, Malfoy quickly retired towards the field. And all she had to do was think about what was in that damn letter.
***
September 1995
In the early morning, the brunette quietly got out of bed so as not to wake her neighbors, got dressed and rushed towards the owlery. The sun had risen only half an hour ago, so it was already cool outside. Autumn is already in full swing.
After feeding a small owl that was sitting in the bottom row, she tied to its paw that unfortunate letter and a short note: "Burn it."
***
October, 1995
"Miss Granger, Mr. Weasley, please come to me after class." I have a special assignment for Gryffindor prefects," Minerva said as he entered the office. The day could be considered beautiful because today Umbridge went to the Minister with a report on her first observations at Hogwarts, you can relax for a couple of hours.
While Lucy chatted with the Weasleys about the progress of their experiments with the new puke bars, Hermione and Ron had already left the Transfiguration room.
“Oooh, brother, you look pretty ugly,” said George, when he saw the red head of his brother and the red face. - Just like last year at the ball rehearsal!
“Or when you conjured slugs for yourself instead of Malfoy…” Fred interceded.
"Enough! Enough! My brothers too…” Hermione interrupted them, noticing yet another Weasley pest. “If this falls into the hands of freshmen again, then blame yourself. Not only will I remove points from Gryffindor, but I will also send you to Filch to work out.
"Hermione, don't be mad!" If you grumble at us so much, you will turn from a beautiful Gryffindor into Ron Weasley! A veiled compliment came from George as Fred quietly told Lucy the story about the slugs and Ron kept trying to justify himself with a broken wand. “So what did McGonagle want from you?” Did someone hurt Moaning Myrtle again?
“No, luckily she didn’t try to flood the whole school again!” the elder remembered with a shudder. “Tomorrow there will be a meeting in the Great Hall and everyone will be told everything. Come on, Ronald, you promised Harry to help set everything up for Quidditch practice today!
“Damn, it completely flew out of my head,” not calculating his strength, he hit himself hard on the forehead. His friends laughed quietly, and the guy just waved his hand and rushed off to help Harry. Although Ron was not taken to the team, he was honored to help his friend, the captain of Gryffindor.
***
“Hogwarts is one of the best wizarding schools, last year we welcomed all our guests from other countries and had a great Christmas ball! This year, we will keep the brand and reinforce the wonderful tradition with a Halloween costume ball! All students from the 4th to the 7th year will attend it, - the director addressed the students during dinner. Whispering began again between the students, was it possible that dancing was waiting for them again. “The Minister of Magic has also expressed a desire to be present and observe the progress of the school! I hope for your understanding. Oh, yes, one small detail... - one wave of the wand and the whole hall will be filled with black and orange decorations. House flags are gone, replaced by floating pumpkins.
- Tomorrow, in the morning, you will have instructions for the ball about dances, scenery and costumes! said McGonagle as soon as Dumbledore gave her the floor. “And just try, Mr. Finigan, blow up the pumpkins at the ball!”
The girls were already quietly whispering to each other, deciding who would wear which dress. For boys, the word dancing did not warm their souls. But the twins seriously thought about what would happen if they blow up a couple of pumpkins over the Slizaren table.
***
"So, the headmen of the school and faculties, you will have the honor to open the evening with your dance!" McCgongle said animatedly, somewhere in the depths of her soul she always loved dancing. "Everyone should choose a pair for themselves, there will be exactly 10 pairs of you. Yes, I'm sorry, Miss Parkinson, but you will need to each separately pair up with another student."
Pansy had had a great evening with Malfoy at the last ball and wasn't too pleased with the fact that she would have to dance with someone else. Ron was angry at the time, only because he couldn't stop dancing here, as he had been sitting by the column all evening last time. Now it was clear why he was all red when he left McGonagall's office.
“Today we will remember the steps of the waltz, we will break into pairs at random,” she told all four faculties. This time the purpose of the ball was to bring the faculties together, although such intentions most often lead only to squabbles.
Harry invited Cho to dance with him today, Luna herself was the first to approach Neville. Hermione seems to have been invited to be her mate today by George. Dean had long shown sympathy for Gini and could not miss such a chance. Ron, on the other hand, continued to hide from McGonagle's eyes, pretending that he could not find anyone to invite to the dance.
“Mr. Weasley, if you don’t find a mate right away, you can assist me again,” his dean said with a slight smile on her face, describing the hall with her eyes.
Lucy never liked to get up early on Saturdays, so she overslept all the time for breakfast, and after putting herself in order, she even managed to almost never be late for her dance class.
“Miss Graves, you are more than ever on time today! - P McCongonagle looked at her, raising her glasses.
“Sorry, I just can’t get used to the stairs changing direction!” - the sorceress got out, straightening her black skirt with her hand.
“Maybe you want to keep Mr. Weasley company and arouse in him a desire to dance?” - finding the Weasleys with her eyes, she noticed George with a couple and Ron, who was trying to call
to dance Romilda Vane.
“Excuse me, professor, but I think you will support the Slyzarin’s initiative to invite the teacher of your house now to the dance?” - a guy appeared next to her, and the dean only nodded with a smile and went to the end of the hall to see how they were doing.
"Blaise Zabini," he introduced himself, turning to Lucy. “So, will you be my couple at this rehearsal?”
"Lucy Graves," she said, looking at the mulatto. It seemed to her that she had already seen him somewhere, perhaps on the Quidditch team. “Yeah, to be honest, I wouldn't really want to dance with Ron.
"No wonder, he held up the walls at the last ball with Potter, and that's all," Blaise said, but without bitterness in his voice. - Can you dance the waltz?
“Yes, of course,” her voice was interrupted by laughter, “first you invite, and then you just ask!” I can, so I hope that you will not step on my feet.
“I will take into account your wishes, miss,” he said, when they were already being reminded of the simplest movements of the waltz.
"Oh, thank you, sir!" Lucy retorted. "Didn't expect, but you are really moving well."
"Yes, and I'm still dancing!" Zabini added, holding out his hand to her and becoming a couple.
It was really easy for someone to dance, mostly those who were older. Neville waltzed with Luna easily, the professor even complimented him a couple of times. Hermione laughed at George's next joke. And in the end, the twins decided to show a master class and dance together as a couple, copying Ron together.
"Blaise, why did you call me?" Slyzarin don't get along well with Gryffindor, do they? she asked when the rehearsal was nearly over. Many have already forgotten what they learned earlier.
"Pansy's not in a good mood to say the least," he said, glancing at the girl with the quads, while Draco was dancing with Greengrass. I've always wondered what it's like to dance with a Gryffindor!
“Did McCgonnagle say something important at the beginning?” she finally said.
“No, she just hinted that we need to decide on a couple as soon as possible so that next week it would be easier to rehearse,” only a nod in response, and the guy whispered in her ear: “Look, now Potter will run into the Weasleys!”
Looking back, she realized that the picture was so still! None of the guys were watching where they led their partner, so they almost fell to the floor. At the end, Zabini simply twirled the brunette in place, and the nearest couples could hear her quiet laughter.
Malfoy was dancing with Greengrass, who was talking all the time. But he did not listen to her at all, and at the corners he looked for Blaise with his eyes. He seemed to be into dancing, Graves was laughing, and her friends Weasley and Granger were talking on the sidelines looking at Harry and Ron with pity. Surprisingly, it wasn't them that annoyed Malfoy today.
***
"If you want to send me to hell, then I declare right away, I had too much fun to listen to your nonsense! Blaze went into his room and plopped down on the bed, his legs aching from dancing and yesterday's workout.
"Damn, if we weren't patrolling the corridors tonight, I'd get drunk!" They took out my whole brain, Pansy is unhappy with the rules, Daphne ... Malfoy complains, who would believe. Blaise was really the closest person at Hogwarts to him.
"Hey, dude, but I still can’t stand the brain with this!" - the mulatto laughed, for which he almost got a pillow in the face, but dodged. “In any case, this new girl could clearly give odds to many girls!”
“Don’t just say that you fell for her tricks too?” - the incomprehensible glance of his friend made Malfoy explain himself. She is not as simple as she seems. Clever, beautiful, knows how to dance, she won’t reach into her pocket for a word, doesn’t suggest any thoughts?
“Aristocrat,” suggested the guy. "Come on. Drop it. I think she was just well brought up, maybe in that school too ..."
"Yes, damn you, Blaze," Draco seemed to be only stating the obvious facts aloud. “She is a legilimen."
“Calm down,” Zabini sent the pillow back to the realm of green duvets, “Do you think friendship with Potter and his pack is just a disguise?
“Perhaps.” He ran through hundreds of theories in his head. His theories were absurd, and the further they developed, the more they fizzled out.
“But what if it’s not at all what you imagine?”
"All right, all right," said Malfoy, tossing the same leather ball from hand to hand. - With whom will the head of all the Italian magic mafia go to the ball?
“I’ll invite someone, I haven’t decided exactly yet,” perhaps his friend had something to hide. "I'm afraid that if I leave Pansy without a 'decent society' pair, she'll pout until Christmas, but I wouldn't mind getting to know Gryffindor better..."
"Keep your sexual fantasies back, Blaze," Draco interrupted. "I've heard enough already, Casanova!"
“Will you dance with Greengrass yourself?”
"No, damn it, I'll call Granger!" What would I do too
snot wiped, as his trio.
"Oh, those Gryffindors again!" I wouldn't mind watching you guys kill each other while dancing! And there’s even something in it, it turns you on, isn’t it?
"You're laughing!" and again Zabini got a pillow.
***
“I don’t advise you to study here, right during the round of Umbridge!” Malfoy stood at the entrance to the Astronomical Tower, leaning against the doorway. He did not expect to find someone here who could prevent him from being alone for a while.
Does Malfoy give advice? Having lost all concentration, Lucy could no longer keep the two books floating in the air. Without a wand, even the simple levitation of a few objects was no easy task. - If you value the badge of the headman and the opportunity to select points, then you also have nothing to do here.
“Still trying to develop your non-verbal magic?” - the guy noticed when he did not find the wand in her hands. "Or maybe you're here rehearsing the dance with some clumsy Gryffindor so you don't screw up?"
“In that case, they didn’t invite you to keep a candle under the door,” she answered, collecting books. Lucy didn't want to stay here anymore, let Umbridge find just Malfoy here rather than them together and start an interrogation about it.
Don't fall for Blaise! - in the end, he threw a phrase at her, forcing her to even turn around back.
"What? What are you talking about? We just danced!"
He didn't say anything in response as he walked towards the large window of the Astronomy Tower. The girl clearly saw the outlines of an owl that flew into the room when she left. Malfoy could hear her descending the stairs, her heels clattering. Blaze was a good friend, but he broke women's hearts a lot. Seeing all this, how his friend sometimes had to push girls away from him, Draco preferred to close his heart to everyone.
***
Lucy spent the whole evening in the library. Hermione had first studied a history of magic tome with her, and then rushed off to the Gryffindor common room to help Ron and Harry finish their Herbology essay, she'd promised them that morning.
The brunette was in no hurry to leave the abode of books and was looking for at least some mention of her parents. Nothing. Both at the beginning of the study and at the end of the day. It was becoming increasingly difficult for her to catch memories from the past, training, study and magical practice - all that was in memory. The only thing she did not want to remember was the evening when the Lord's servants caught her and threw her at the feet of her master.
Looking for something to read before bed? Again they grappled with Malfoy.
“Looking for someone’s ass to take points off.” Gryffindor would be a great fit" surprisingly Malfoy was quite calm. “I have an offer, Graves. You don't need much.
"I'm listening", she put the books back on the shelves. Muggle way. It helped take my mind off the magic. Draco took the last book from her hands and placed the last book over her head with a clatter.
"I heard you're going to the ball with one of the Weasleys." He obviously didn't like the name. "They tried to put this mine again today the hysterical hag is a fool, so she appointed them a detention right on the festive night. So, if you don't want to leave the society of Gryffindors for one night and...
"Go to the ball with you?" she guessed. "What use is it to you to invite me, a miserable brat and friend of Saint Potter, to the ball? Do you want to mock?"
"Read the thoughts of the representatives of the Ministry at the ball", he said quietly, "Are you so naive, since you think that we are not taught to defend ourselves, but only invited to the ball and let the kids enjoy the evening?"
"Why do you need it? As she got closer", she spoke more quietly. It even seemed to him that some of the words sounded only in his head.
"If there's a war, the Malfoys will predictably end up on the same side they were last time," he glared at Lucy. She wanted the truth, pulled answers from him. She's not an idiot helping him with no answers. - I don't want war.
He understood that without an answer she would not agree. Leave, which is already going to do. Why should she help someone who has already decided on the side.
"My mother", he looked into her eyes and tried to mentally reach out. "The father will not stand before anything, knowing the goal ..."
"Only with a couple of conditions!" straightening her back, the brunette still could not believe that she had common business with the heir of the Malfoys.
"Keep in mind, I do not give blood contracts! Inapplicable Vow including!"
“It’s a pity that blood oaths are still banned these days, but I’m more interested in one magical artifact…”