The Remembrall Incident
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry, Somewhere in Scotland - 6 September, 1991
Draco woke up a little later than he had the previous days that week on Friday, meaning he went down with Blaise and Pansy instead of by himself. “I don’t understand why you wake up so early, Dray.” Pansy said, yawning a bit.
“Some people like to wake up early, Pans.” Draco rolled his eyes, a smirk playing on his lips, “It’s a habit of extremely smart people!” he preened as they quickly began to take the steps up from the dungeons into the grand staircase.
“Is that why you are waking up so late today?” Pansy pointed out, the wanker.
Draco blushed slightly, “Well maybe today I wanted to make you two feel better about yourselves.” he said, speeding up ever so slightly so that they reached the top of the stairs and the beginning of the hallway to the great hall.
“Yeah right, you’ve never done anything for anyone other than yourself ever.” Pansy said rudely as they walked down the long hall.
“I have! Like- on the train I helped Longbottom look for his frog!” Draco defended on the fly, truthfully having forgotten he had done that.
“Didn’t Longbottom find his toad after the train and didn’t you get distracted with Potter?” Blaise pointed out as they turned right down the hall.
“Well- I- Shut up, Blaise!” Draco snapped at him as he pushed open the door to the great hall and entered.
“You’re just mad that I’m right.” Blaise points out.
“That we are right!” Pansy huffs as they make their way over to the Slytherin table, many students having already got there. The only other first years, however, were Greengrass and Theo.
“Yes, yes, Pansy, you are always right and we are always wrong.” Blaise said sarcastically while rolling his eyes as they sat across from Theo, who was reading a book. “What are you reading, Theo?” Blaise inquired.
This made Theo look up from his book, looking a bit startled, “O- Oh, it’s about the process of creating magical paintings.” Theo said quietly, his voice barely loud enough for Draco to hear.
“That’s interesting, do you plan on trying to implement it into your painting?” Blaise asked as food filled the table and their goblets filled. Draco quickly tuned them out, for it was surely going to be a positively boring conversation.
Draco quickly filled his plate as the rest of the students filed in, Crabbe and Goyle joining them last, as usual. By the time they sat down, Draco’s plate and goblet were full and ready to be eaten and dranken. On his plate he had some toast, sausages, some fried mushrooms, and a small bowl of a fruit parfait, while his goblet was filled with some morning tea, just the way he likes it, with 4 cubes of sugar and no milk.
Pansy, of course, gave her usual sound of disgust as he added the 4 cubes to his tea, which was four times what she added to her own tea. “Don’t you dare judge.” Draco hissed as he narrowed his eyes and glared at her tea, which had no sugar in it at all.
“Whatever you say, you monster.” Pansy said as she stirred and sipped at her own tea.
It wasn’t long after that where the owls swooped in and flew in all directions, carrying letters and presents. Draco was just barely able to catch the newspaper that was sent flying towards his plate of food by his owl, Achilles. “Damn bird” Draco mumbled as he undid the twine holding the paper in a roll, unrolling and looking through it.
“Anything interesting, Dray?” Pansy asked as she unrolled her copy of Witch Weekly excitedly.
“Not really,” Draco observed as he flipped to the next page, reading off the first story he saw on there, unthinkingly. “Gringotts Break-In—” Draco choked as he registered the name of the article.
“Oh they are reporting on the Gringotts break-in again? I wonder, did they catch the wizard who did it?” Blaise questioned, leaning over Draco’s shoulder.
“Again?! When did they first report it?!” Draco questioned, shocked that Gringotts could be broken into.
“They covered it like– a month ago. Daddy made a whole fuss about it, all worried our galleons weren’t safe anymore. Mummy had to convince him not to pull it all out and keep it at home.” Pansy said, flipping through her Witch’s Weekly. “Oooo~! Hair care tips for the socialite lady!”
Draco quickly went back to ignoring her and turning his attention to reading the shocking article.
GRINGOTTS BREAK-IN LATEST
By: Andy Smudgley | 6 September, 1991
Investigations continue into the break-in of Gringotts on the 31st of July. It is widely believed to be the work of Dark wizards or witches that are currently unknown. “We will find those responsible for the break-in, we have no reason to believe that they will attempt another break-in at this time.” The auror in charge of the investigation, Auror Williamson, said when the break-in first happened.
Gringotts goblins today insisted that nothing had been taken. The vault that was searched, vault 713, had been emptied earlier that day. No other vaults had an attempted break-in. When questioned on the safety of Gringotts a spokesgoblin for the bank stated, “The bank has always and will always be the most secure bank in all of England.”
“But we’re not telling you what was in there, so keep your noses out if you know what’s good for you,” said another Gringott’s spokesgoblin this afternoon. No other Goblins were willing to give more information.
For a full overview on the break-in look at the article “Gringotts Break-In”, can be found on the front page of the Daily Prophet, published the 1st of August.
‘Strange,’ Draco thought, ‘that’s the day Mother and I were in Diagon. I wonder if it happened while we were shopping.’ He considered that thought for a moment before shaking his head, folding up the paper, and putting said paper into his bag.
~1~
Before Draco knew it the Slytherin’s were standing outside of the potions classroom, ready and waiting for their first class of the day, double potions. The Gryffindor’s hadn’t decided to gift the Slytherin’s with their presence just yet, something Draco found rude.
“It’s almost time for class to start, Professor Snape is going to open that door any minute and they won’t be here!” Draco called, stomping his food a little.
“What’s the big deal, Dray? Isn't it a good thing if they are late or don’t show up? We wouldn’t have to deal with any explosions or know-it-alls.” Pansy reasoned as checked her face in her compact mirror.
“That all sounds amazing, but you have to admit that even that muggleborn Granger is running behind.” Blaise commented just as a group of Gryffindor’s turned down the hall and began walking towards the classroom.
“Finally.” Draco muttered, crossing his arms and huffing a bit. That is until he saw Potter approaching him with quick, long strides, a look of extreme focus taking over the young wizard’s face, with Weasley rushing to follow him. A flash of worry filled Draco, a pit already growing in his stomach.
Before Draco could hide behind the Slytherin’s surrounding him, Potter was there in front of Draco and the Slytherin’s. “Hey Draco.” Potter greeted with a grin.
Draco simply blinked and could only choke out a simple “Potter.”
“I got a letter from Hagrid at breakfast inviting me and Ron to his after classes today, I wanted to see if you wanted to come.” Potter said, that grin still on his face. Weasley, who had caught up to Potter now and stood behind him, made a sound of protest and glared at Draco as if it was his fault.
“Harry– he’s a Malfoy!” Weasley cried, as if trying to beg for Potter to see reason. But Potter ignored Weasley and kept his gaze on Draco, the grin ever present on his face.
“So? Wanna join us?” Potter offered again.
Draco simply stared, uncomprehending until Pansy elbowed him roughly. He stumbled ever so slightly before he fixed himself upright and throwing a glare towards the hag. ‘Rude’ Draco thought.
He quickly turned his gaze back to Potter, who was waiting patiently. “No.” Draco said simply, making the grin on Potter’s face fall. Quickly Draco added, “I’m studying later.”
“Oh, well, maybe next time then?” Potter questioned hopefully, just as the door to the potions classroom creaked open to reveal Professor Snape standing there with a raised eyebrow.
~2~
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry, Somewhere in Scotland - 12 September, 1991
The next week passed in a blur, and before Draco knew it, he and all of the Slytherin’s were waiting on the part of the front lawn that was reserved for flying lessons at 3:30 for flying lessons. There were about 20 or so brooms already laid out on the lawn when the Slytherin’s had gotten there, and yet Madam Hooch was nowhere to be seen. It was a clear, breezy day, and the grass rippled easily as Draco shifted slightly. The day was perfect for flying, and yet he was nervous all the same.
‘Why am I so nervous? I’ve been flying since before I could walk!’ Draco reasoned, yet it did nothing for the dozens of snitches zooming around in his stomach.
“Can you believe we have to have flying lessons with the Gryffindor’s? This will be torture.” Pansy complained as they waited.
“You don’t even like to fly, Pans.” Draco pointed out as he looked around the lawn.
“Doesn’t mean I want the lesson to be filled with explosions.” Pansy argued, referencing the many, many explosions their potions class had been filled with the previous week and the Tuesday before.
“How would they cause explosions on a broom?” Draco questioned, although he could see that Irish, half-blood boy somehow blowing up a broom.
“If there’s a will then there is a way.” Pansy swore as Draco saw the Gryffindor’s begin to emerge down the front steps and onto the lawn.
Not long after the Gryffindor’s arrived their professor arrived. She had short, grey hair that was styled to spike in every direction, and yellow eyes that seemed hawk-like. She quickly rounded up the Slytherin and Gryffindor first years into one crowd, although there was a very obvious divide, before standing in front of them.
“I am Madam Hooch, I will be your flying instructor for the rest of the term. By the time I am done with you, you will be flying as if you’ve been flying your entire life.” She paced in front of the small crowd, her hands folded behind her back. ‘I have been flying my entire life.’
“Now, stand beside a broom. Hurry it up.” Hooch barks, making all of the first years rush to stand beside a broom.
Before Draco knew it he was standing beside a broom that couldn’t be more different than his Nimbus 1700. Instead of having a sleek, polished handle and smooth bristles, this one was rough and had twigs splinted out in every direction.
“Now, stick your right hand over your broom,” called Madam Hooch from the front, “and say ‘Up!’”
“Up!” Everyone shouted.
Most brooms stayed on the ground at the first call, Draco noticed only Potter’s flew to his hand on the first try. It filled Draco with jealousy, which he quickly put into calling out a second, “Up!” which made the broom fly up and into his right hand.
Draco looked around after that, noting how a few more people had gotten their brooms up and into their hands. The primary two that had the most trouble were the know-it-all muggleborn and Longbottom. The muggleborn’s broom simply kept rolling back and forth, even as her voice got more and more frustrated. Longbottom’s, on the other hand, didn’t move at all.
After 5 more minutes and all the brooms were in people’s hands, Hooch showed them all how to properly mount a broom. Draco quickly mounted his broom like always had, adjusting his grip on the handle to be his left hand in front of his right.
Hooch then began to walk up and down the rows, correcting many people’s grips and form. She quickly came to Draco and stopped, checking his grip, “Your right hand needs to be in front, Mister Malfoy.” She corrected as she fixed his grip.
Draco’s ears went pink in embarrassment as he heard Weasley chortle. “But I’m left-handed, Madam Hooch.” Draco reasoned, even as she went to Pansy, who was next to him.
“Doesn’t matter, Mister Malfoy, right hand is always in front.” Hooch said as she corrected Pansy’s form and instructed her to hold onto the handle tighter.
‘But- Quidditch Through the Ages says it depends on your wand hand..’ Draco thought, confused and still a bit embarrassed. He considered switching it back but didn’t, he didn’t want to be called out again.
Hooch quickly finished correcting all of the first years and returned to the from of the crowd, “Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard,” Madam Hooch instructed. “Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle — three — two —”
But before she could blow the whistle, Draco saw Longbottom, who looked nervous and like the broom would eat him alive, pushed off hard from the ground.
“Come back, boy!” Hooch shouted, but Longbottom was rising too fast to stop. He rose straight up in a matter of seconds, quickly rising about 6 metres into the sky. Draco could just barely make out Longbottom’s pale face as he glanced at the ground. He could just barely hear his gasp of fear. However, he very much saw Longbottom slip and fall off the broom, falling all of 6 metres and landing on his face with a crunch.
The broom continued to rise before zooming off in every direction, eventually flying off and into the forest.
Hooch rushed to Longbottom’s side, as did many other students, her face pale as she kneeled down and rolled him over. Even from his spot at the back of the crowd of students he could tell Longbottom’s nose was broken, as well as the wrist that was bent at an odd angle.
“Broken wrist,” Draco barely heard her mutter, “ Come on, Mister Longbottom — it’s all right, up you get.” She slowly helped him to his feet before turning to the class that had gathered around her and Longbottom.
“None of you is to move while I take Mister Longbottom to the hospital wing! You leave the brooms where they are or you’ll be out of Hogwarts before you can say ‘Quidditch.’ Come on, dear.” She ordered before helping Longbottom hobble off the lawn, her arm around him as tears and blood streamed down his face.
Just as they got out of earshot Draco caught a glimpse of something, something that shone as the light of the sun hit it. It was a —
~3~
“Did you see the great lump?”
“Shut up, Malfoy.”
“Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom?” “Never thought you’d like fat little cry-babies, Pavarti.”
“Look!” “It’s that stupid thing Longbottom’s gran sent him.”
“Give that here, Malfoy.”
“I think I’ll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find — how about — up in a tree?”
“Give it here!”
“Come and get it, Potter!”
“No!” “Madam Hooch told us not to move — you’ll get us all into trouble.”
“Give it here, or I’ll knock you off that broom!”
“Oh yeah?”
“No Crabbe and Goyle to save your neck, Malfoy.”
“Catch it if you can then!”
~4~
Draco quickly came back to himself, like he always did, within a second of him going into a vision. Nothing had changed around him and no one else had spotted a glass rememberall on the ground that hadn’t been there before Longbottom had dropped.
Draco moved forward and crouched to pick it up, feeling like his soul had left his body and having another out of body experience. “Look what Longbottom dropped.” He said unthinkingly.
Many stopped what they were doing around him and looked towards him. Weasley quickly pushed forward and tried to grab it from him, “Give it here, Malfoy! That isn’t yours!” It was then that Draco became more aware as he dodged Weasley’s grabby hands.
“Like how it is yours? It’s Longbottom’s.” Draco reminded Weasley, “Unless you plan on stealing it and selling it, I bet it would be enough to feed your family for — a week — perhaps?” Draco snapped out as he turned the rememberall over in his hand.
“Okay, okay, I think you both need to calm down.” Potter said as he stepped between Weasley and Draco. “Draco,” he turned to him, “Hand me Neville’s rememberall.” he ordered as he held out his hand.
However, Draco was overcome with a feeling, close to what he had been feeling nearly a month ago — a feeling of wrongness. But it wasn’t quite that, instead it was a feeling of needing his vision to come true, of needing to get Potter into the air.
“No, I think I’ll just return it myself!” Draco huffed as he turned and stormed towards the door leading inside, fighting off the feeling. It was an overwhelming feeling, like someone was pulling his hair and screaming in his ear. He was so distracted that he didn’t notice a large rock that had come out of nowhere, tripping Draco up and sending the glass ball out of his hands and soaring into the sky for a moment, somehow going almost as high as Longbottom had.
Before it quickly began to fall towards the ground.
Before Draco could even blink, there was a woosh of air as he felt someone fly by him. Next thing he knew, he saw Potter racing to catch the rememberall, just barely catching it when it was barely a foot off the ground.
“HARRY POTTER!!”
Draco looked towards the front steps, his heart began to beat at a normal pace and the overwhelming feeling fading as he saw McGonagall raced towards Potter. Potter quickly landed, almost tumbling really, and he got to his feet shakily with the ball still firmly held in his hand.
“Never — in all my time at Hogwarts —” Professor McGonagall was almost speechless, her face as red as her house colour. “ — how dare you — might have broken your neck —”
“It wasn’t his fault, Professor —” an Indian girl cried, having rushed over here. Actually, it was only now that Draco noticed that everyone had rushed over to where Draco was standing.
“Be quiet, Miss Patil —” McGonagall shushed even as Weasley rushed forward.
“But Malfoy —”
“That’s enough, Mister Weasley. Potter, follow me, now.” McGonagall ordered, making Draco look at Potter. His face had gone pale, and his eyes wide as he was rushed off by McGonagall, only glancing for a moment towards Draco.
The look he gave Draco made his chest lurch, an unknown feeling filling it — almost like regret. ‘It was an accident! I was trying to do something good and return it!’ Draco reasoned as the doors slammed shut.
The group of first years were quiet for a moment before Weasley whipped around towards Draco, “You!” Weasley called before rushing forward, only stopping when he saw Crabbe and Goyle step up to be beside Draco. “You — You — You're gonna get Harry expelled!” Weasley yelled as he stomped a foot angrily.
“It’s not like I meant to!” Draco argued back, backing away and finding safety between Crabbe and Goyle. “Plus it’s not like he is actually going to get expelled!”
“But you did! You should have just given the rememberall to me or Harry!” Weasley crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at Draco, nonplussed with Crabbe and Goyle’s pressence. “You know what? I challenge you to a Wizard’s Duel!” Weasley challenged, making a gasp form up from most of the first years.
“Ron, no! That’s against the rules-” The muggleborn that Draco kept seeing around argued, pushing through the crowd to stand next to the blood traitor.
“Shut it, Hermione, this isn’t any of your business!” Weasley snapped a little before turning back to Draco angrily.
“A wizard’s duel? You really want to challenge me about something that was an accident? You do know those aren’t allowed here, right?” Draco questioned, his mind boggled that Weasley would challenge him over something like this. ‘It’s not like Potter will actually get expelled, it’s Potter!’
“Do you accept or not, Malfoy?” Weasley said, raising an eyebrow like he was all high and mighty.
Draco really didn’t want to accept, if they were caught or one of the many first years who were hearing of this blabbed and they got in trouble then his father would be furious. However, it was a matter of pride, and nothing was more important to a Malfoy than pride. “Fine, I accept. Who will be your second?” Draco relented, crossing his own arms.
Weasley looked around for a moment before his eyes landed on another Gryffindor first year, “Dean, wanna be my second?”
“Uh – Sure.” The other Gryffindor shrugged, looking very confused, making Weasley look back to Draco.
“What about you? Who will be your second?” Weasley questioned as he looked and sized up the Slytherin first years.
Draco quickly looked around at the other Slytherin’s before making eye contact with Blaise. He raised a single eyebrow at him, offering a silent question towards Blaise, to which Blaise nodded back silently. “Blaise.” Draco answered as he turned back to Weasley.
Weasley made a face at that but said nothing against it, “Perfect, meet me at the trophy case at midnight tonight, my brother’s say it’s always empty.” He said before storming off. The muggleborn seemed torn about chasing after him and scolding him vs staying in class.
She ends up staying in place, not stupidly running off like Weasley. Hooch ended up returning a moment later, not even noticing that two more first years were missing than when she left. “What are you all doing by the steps? Get back by your brooms!” She snapped, making the first years rush back to the lawn.
As they did make their way over, Blaise slowed to walk next to him, “You know this is a stupid idea, right?” He questioned, lowering his voice, “I mean it’s likely that someone will tell Filch and you’ll get caught.”
Draco rolled his eyes slightly, not denying the possibility, “But if I refused then the Malfoy name would be dishonoured. Saying no to a Weasley, really.”
“You’ll dishonour it if you lose to a Weasley.” Blaise points out as they make it back to their brooms.
“Good thing that I’m not going to lose.” Draco replied, stepping up next to his broom.