Night air
‘Voldemort’s pet dog’
His alabaster skin was pink from the scalding water.
‘Death eater’- her voice echoed in the depths of his mind.
His lungs ached from lack of expansion.
‘What would you have us do, Draco?! Let that inbred tosser attack Ginny?’ – ‘Mate, the fucking pricks have had it coming for days now, and you know it!’
His eyes were burning but he couldn’t make himself blink.
‘Mr. Malfoy, surely you understand that we can’t have students making accusations of an attack on them, the Ministry has been very clear in their guidelines for allowing you to be here instead of the less than desired alternative. I am doing my best to give you all a chance for a different life. Please don’t make it any more difficult for me than it already is. This is your first and final warning, I trust you will relay this to the others.’
He sank beneath the water. Only emerging when the pressure in his chest felt like a balloon on the verge of popping. Pulling in deep ragged breaths, he pushed the heel of his hands into his eye sockets.
They had gotten close today, too close to the spiraling deathtrap of life they had barely crawled out of the first time. He saw it in the way Pansy ignited after watching Ginny get hurt. He saw it in the way Theo’s darkness surfaced with a smile when he raised his wand to fight. He saw it in Blaise’s narrowed and calculating eyes as he assessed the Ravenclaws. He saw it in McGonagall’s strained body language as she lectured him privately.
But mostly he felt it.
He felt it when Hermione moved to step in front of six wands without hesitation. He felt it when he was prepared to end everyone’s life in that field with a snap of his fingers should she have gotten hit with even a simple stinging hex. He felt it when he lost control and lashed out with his wordless magic. He felt it when she had defended him and when she called him by his given name.
He felt her.
And in feeling her, he somehow caressed the dormant Malfoy darkness that lurked within, the very darkness his aunt and the Dark Lord had tried to coax out.
Normally he could sense the slow pull of the glacier-like walls of the Manor, the creeping frost that swept across his mind and body as if they were calling him home, but he was gone before he even knew it was coming when Hermione stepped into danger. This Manor was different though. He wasn’t locked in, it wasn’t impenetrable because it didn't need to be, and it wasn't cold.
Draco could feel, see, hear, and react without contemplation. His wordless magic wasn’t a loss of control after all, it was an act of his most basic will and want. It was true magic because his magic was him, not some spell that was created and learned and rehearsed. It was no wonder why they had pushed him so hard during his training. If they had succeeded, and he had full access to this kind of dark magic, the war might have ended very differently indeed.
He couldn’t help it; he threw his head back and laughed. Laughed until his insides hurt and there were tears rolling down his cheeks. They key to unlocking everything they wanted and needed from him was the very thing they had been trying to eradicate. Oh, to see their faces, how they must be disintegrating to ashes in their rotten afterlife to see how the muggle-born witch that they abhorred has turned out to be the most powerful witch alive. Draco let his hysterics trickle down to chuckles with one last mirthful head shake and sigh before letting the harshness of reality settle in.
His strong wordless magic was a dangerous secret… this dark power would be a death sentence.
His body was dry and his clothes were on before he had even had time to process the thought fully. Draco had to fight hard against his magic to not apparate directly to McGonagall’s office, so much so that he was out of breath by the time he reached the thick wooden door. As if she sensed him, the door flew open before his knuckles connected for the first knock.
“Mr. Malfoy, heavens you look ill, what is the matter?”
“I need to visit my mother.”
“You know that cannot happen until the Holiday-“
“Please!” He begged, “It’s important.”
The uncharacteristic plea that fell from his lips was not lost on her. He could see the wheels turning behind her glasses.
“I can’t let you leave, however,” she tutted when he went to protest again, “I can invite her for tea to discuss her recent funding for the school. Perhaps you can have a word with her then.”
He nodded in understanding.
“Two in the afternoon tomorrow. Good night, Mr. Malfoy.”
“Thank you, professor.”
Draco wound his way up the spiral staircase to the one place, other than the room of requirement, that he hadn’t been able to bring himself since returning. It was a clear night and the air was crisp as it swirled around him, making his untucked shirt and pants flap against his body. The Astronomy tower didn’t seem to mind his presence like the room of requirement, or rather, it didn’t object to it. It enveloped him in its vast silence and endless view of a world other than the one he was currently in.
He lowered himself and sat on the edge, letting his legs dangle over the side of the platform and traced the stars with his eyes. He had never realized how peaceful it was to feel so very small compared to the beautiful orbs that painted the night sky. He had never been allowed to feel less than, outside of his rank in the Dark Lord’s reign, a Malfoy was never to be considered insignificant.
The stars shifted transversely and the atmosphere bled from dazzling black to fuzzy orange with the sunrise. And as the last of the night faded away, so did his sense of calm. Draco stood and braced himself against the railing while the tingling from his sleeping legs took its time disappearing. Once steady, he descended from the tower and made his way to the dorm where he hoped everyone would have headed to breakfast by the time he got there.
The common room was empty and thankfully so was the boy’s room. He started to strip.
“You’ve got everyone in a right foul mood, ya know.”
Neville was lucky. So lucky that Draco might even consider him a fucking leprechaun. Being so used to having to contain his reactions was the only reason why Neville was still standing or even breathing for that matter given what he was now capable of.
“Neville, I will advise you to never sneak up on me again. It won’t end favorably for you.” He warned in the lightest tone he could muster, meaning it still came out harshly.
The Gryffindor scoffed. “I wasn’t sneaking up on you.”
Draco continued changing his robes and kept his back to the other boy. “What did you forget?”
“How do you know I forgot something?” He asked incredulously. Draco turned and eyed Neville like that was the most idiotic question he had ever been asked, because it was. “My tie.” The boy admitted turning a bit pink as he plucked it up from his nightstand.
They walked towards the Great Hall together in a comfortable silence. Well, he was comfortable with it, but it looked like Neville had something on his mind and he remembered what Neville has said upon entering their room. He stopped just outside the doors where the hum of conversations and cutlery scraping against plates flowed out into the hall.
“What should I prepare myself to walk into?”
Neville scrunched his nose up. “Well Luna and I are fine, she knew you’d show up eventually and I trust her intuition. But the others… they’re… well you’ll see.”
Draco followed Neville in as they walked the short distance to their normal table.
“Oh, and Goyle is gone.”
“Gone?”
“Daphne wouldn’t say much about it, but he’s on the run from what I gathered.”
Draco shook his head and sat down. The bloke would be lucky if he made it a week but at least it was one less chess piece to worry about.
“Look who decided to grace us with his presence.”
“A note, Draco, a simple note would have been nice.”
His skin prickled. He knew they were only upset because they cared for him and his well-being but he needed some space. Space from being their leader, from trying to keep them alive and out of prison, space to collect himself and figure out what he was going to do about the power swirling within him. He needed to learn how to control it before he hurt someone or the Ministry found out about him.
“I needed some time alone. And no, Pansy, I didn’t mean disappear and worry you.” He spoke to the group of them before addressing Pansy’s predictable retort before it even fell from her lips. While she may seem wild and incontrollable to the rest of the world, he knew better. She was actually a creature of strict habit. One of the things he liked most about her.
He let himself look at the empty seats beside her quickly before reaching for a scone from the pile of pastries in front of him.
“I’m going to bring the girls breakfast, later.” Theo said swiftly as he tucked away a random assortment of items in his arms.
Pansy stood and reached for a few of the things Theo had missed or forgotten, “I’ll help.”
“We should actually be going too, I need to stop by the Divination room before Potions.” Luna murmured, seeming like she was already halfway to her desired location in spirit. Neville took her arm and escorted her out of sight.
Draco nibbled on his scone and sipped his tea, fully aware that Blaise was waiting for his attention. When his friend finally realized he wasn’t going to get it he exhaled loudly.
“I would ask where you were, but I already know the answer to that. Care to tell me why you were there and what you were doing?”
“If you knew where I was then why didn’t you tell the others?”
Blaise shrugged.
“And if you were there, you already know what I was doing.”
“You were different. Your magic was different...”
“Is that how you do it then, you trace magic?” He finally asked the loaded question about Blaise’s abilities. Other than knowing he was a shadow, he knew nothing about how it worked or how Blaise was able to do half the things he could.
“In a way.”
“How does my magic usually present?” Draco continued knowing that was as good of an answer as he was going to get for now.
Blaise folded his hands on the table in front of him. “Powerful and bitter. Like a strong cup of coffee.”
“And now?” The hair on his arms rose, almost as if he could sense Blaise reaching feelers out into his aura.
“What changed, Draco?”
He shook his head, “What is it now?”
“Dark. Dark but quiet. Like the night air after snowfall.” He paused almost as if he was confused or frustrated. “And there’s something more, something I can’t decipher, it’s at the root.”
Draco knew what that ‘something’ was. A hand sized patch of warmth seared on his chest just above his heart, he rubbed at it. Blaise’s eyes locked to the movement and narrowed. He stopped and dropped his hand immediately.
“How’s the Weaslette?”
“Fine.”
They stared at each other, both knowing they were withholding information, waiting for the other to give in. Draco rolled his eyes.
“I have a meeting with my mother this afternoon about the change. Where are the girls?”
“Granger overslept, nightmares. She’s fine now. Ginny and Susan stayed behind to help her through the morning which is why Theo and Pansy took them breakfast. What caused it?”
He clenched his jaw at the news. “I have an idea.”
“Which is?”
He let his eyes again flicker to her empty spot and then back to his friend.
“I was hoping for a different answer. This is bad, Draco.”
“You have no idea.” Draco let his control drop for just a second and Blaise choked on the sudden surge of magic that hit his receptors.
Draco was early to tea which actually meant he was late in Malfoy time. It was ten minutes to two when he knocked on the Headmistress’s door and he was not surprised to find his mother already inside when the door opened for him. He was however surprised to hear that she was leaving.
“Ah Mr. Malfoy, I was just about to walk your mother to the Garden so she could take her portkey home, would you care to escort her instead?”
A little phased at the change of plans, it took him a moment longer than was proper to respond. “I, yes, of course. Mother?” He sang while extending his arm to her.
“Thank you for your time, Narcissa. I look forward to our future communications.”
“The pleasure was mine, Minerva.” She responded regally.
They walked silently and his mother smiled tightly to the group of professors they passed on their way out to the courtyard.
“I thought I was to meet you for tea?”
“Not here.” She hushed back.
The second they stepped outside his mother seemed to relax a fraction. “The portraits listen, dear. You never know who they report back to. McGonagall knew this as well and told you two so that we could speak privately out of doors without suspicion as to why I was here. Clever woman. Now what it is it?”
Draco glanced around and saw a couple stray students either ditching class or enjoying their free period out of doors before the weather turned. He took her arm again and resumed their path to her portkey in the garden.
“Draco?” She questioned warily.
“It happened.”
“What happened?”
“What they tried so hard to make happen.”
She stopped. “You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
“How do you know.”
“I feel it, my Manor… it’s different. Blaise felt it too.” He’s not sure why he added the last part but something told him it was important for her to know.
His mother nodded but her eyes were far away. He felt it right before his mother gasped and dropped his arm, she’d entered his mind. Legilimency felt different depending on the witch or wizard using it, it was like a magical fingerprint so to say, and his mother’s had always felt sharp and to the point with minimal discomfort.
“Christmas. Try to hold it at bay until you come home for Christmas. We will work on masking it then.” She kissed his forehead and then left him standing on the path to the garden while she walked with serene purpose to her portkey.
Draco turned back toward the castle. Three months. What could go wrong?