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Old 06-03-2011, 08:10 PM   #4 (permalink)
ShrikeMalfoy
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Hogwarts RPG Name:
Shrike Malfoy
Seventh Year
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Chapter three

They had arrived at Hogsmeade station. Draco had changed into his robes now. His usual clothes shut away in his case, the school robes seemed to give him strength – or perhaps they helped distance himself from the other Draco – the one he despised, the death eater and slave of the Dark Lord.

He glared out the window again. The oaf Hagrid was waiting for them – lantern in hand – as he had always done – ready to take the first years off to the boats. Part of Draco revelled in the normalcy of it all. As though the last year had been a dream – or a nightmare he mused.

Draco waited as the others stood and collected their bags. Finally he arose and took his own bag from the rack above. He glanced at the rack – half expecting to see something move, perhaps he had dreamed it all and Potter would be hidden there, maybe he could change things – yes – he’d still break Potter’s nose of course. He smiled at the memory. The smile died as he realised that no, Potter wasn’t there and this was real. He turned and headed towards the exit.
…..

Draco stood still with shock. He shuddered as he looked on the creatures harnessed to the school carriages. They had a dragonish face, neck and then skeletal body of a great, black, winged horse. One of the creatures turned and looked at him. Thestrals. Nott walked up to his side.

"You see them too?" Theodore Nott asked him. Draco nodded unable to draw his eyes away from the nightmarish creatures. "Come on, let’s get a carriage before we have to share."

Draco dragged his eyes away form the creature and followed Nott onto the carriage. Crabbe and Goyle were already on the carriage, Draco and Theodore Nott took the seats opposite as the carriage began to move off. Once out of earshot of the other student’s they began to talk.

"I heard that the Dark Lord killed that Muggle Studies teacher," Crabbe laughed. "What’s her name?"

Draco didn’t answer. He had after all seen it all, her body finally eaten by the snake, Nagini. It wasn’t something he particularly wanted to talk about.

"Charity Burbage." Nott replied. "Dad was there, he told me all about it."

"You where there too Draco." Crabbe said. "What happened?"

Draco felt uneasy. He looked at Crabbe and Goyle’s expectant faces. Reluctantly he began to tell them all about what had happened in the drawing room at Malfoy Manor, although he did omit the part where he had fallen out of his chair.

"Great! Serves the old bag right." Goyle was saying. "Proper Muggle lover her."

Nott, Crabbe and Goyle laughed. "There’s no Defence against the dark arts this year either." Draco told them. "I heard them talking about it afterwards."

"Oh yeah, what we do instead?" Crabbe asked him.

Draco smiled. "We get Dark Arts instead." He told them triumphantly. "The Carrow’s are teaching at Hogwarts this term." He added quietly.

Crabbe and Goyle let out whoops of joy and laughed. Draco sat back in his seat watching them as they laughed. He folded his arms and looked over at the creature pulling the carriage.

He remembered what the oaf Hagrid had said. Thestrals, could only be seen by a person who had witnessed someone die. And he had seen three - Dumbledore, Rowe and the muggle studies teacher. He remembered back to that Care of Magical Creatures class, of the whispers with Parkinson and a brief annoyance that he couldn’t see the creature Potter, Lovegood and Nott were staring at. Now he wished that he couldn’t see them. But, he wondered nervously how many more deaths he would see?
….

He walked up the lonely drive towards the main gates with Nott, Crabbe and Goyle. Filch was waiting there as always. He glanced at the caretaker and ignoring him they continued on their way.

Draco carried on up into the entrance and towards the great hall. He was on alert as he followed Crabbe and Goyle in, Potter hadn’t been on the train – but some of his friends were, perhaps they would try something? Were they hiding? Ready to spring out and hex him within an inch of his life. He drew his wand just in case.

But would they dare? He thought on – ready for any retaliation. He made his way to the Slytherin table and slid onto the bench between Zabini and Goyle. They didn’t speak but looked around the Great Hall too, muffled whispers echoed through the hall. Not only was Potter not on the train, but neither was the mudblood or Weasley.

His eyes were drawn to the teacher’s tables. He had been there when the Death Eaters discussed the change of teachers but nothing had really prepared him for the sight of the Carrows, Snape and several other Death Eaters sat at the table amongst the familiar faces of the usual professors. Around him frightened faces looked at the table and others glanced over to Draco. They turned away as Draco looked at them in return.

Draco smiled. With no Potter about to spoil his fun? He laughed inwardly and he felt a smile tugging at his mouth. The old Draco, the one without a care and the leader of a gang of Slytherin bullies rose his white-blond head – oh yes he could enjoy himself this term.

McGonagall brought the first years in to be sorted. Bored, Draco took his wand out of his robes and practiced turning a goblet full of pumpkin juice into wine. Ignoring all else. He knew that his mother had insisted that he came to Hogwarts for his own safety. But what good would it do? He had overheard the conversations; he knew that his parents didn’t truly believe that they could ever be safe from the Dark Lord. Had his father too had second thoughts about the alliance with Voldemort? Greyback had said that he had no stomach for it – if only he had known this before – would he too have allied himself with the Death Eaters? Could he have resisted the Dark Lord – would he have never started on the task to repair the vanishing cabinet? Would he be here now staring at the back of Potter’s head instead of Neville Longbottom’s?

He stopped. His thoughts racing through his head at the speed of light and confusing him even more. He wanted it all back to normal, he wanted to be himself again, not a frightened kid expected to be a man. He looked around the Slytherin table in envy – Nott, Crabbe and Goyle’s fathers were all Death Eaters – they hadn’t joined the Dark Lord’s ranks. If the Dark Lord hadn’t threatened his family would any of this have happened? He rubbed his temples as his head began to throb with all these thoughts, wishing there was a way to rid him of them.

He looked forward to the banquet being over and going to the common room and on to the dormitories – where finally he could be alone with his thoughts – then he could be Draco again. Snape rose to the Owl Podium and silence descended on the room. There were stunned gasps from around the room. The Slytherin table erupted in applause before he began to speak – Snape acknowledged them and raised his hand for silence. They already knew that they would be keeping their new housemaster and the Daily Prophet had run the story that Hogwarts would be gaining their old one as headmaster.

Draco didn’t look up at Snape as he started his speech. He had seen Snape enough that summer and couldn’t look at him without even more painful memories returning. He had wanted so much to ask him what Greyback had meant when he had said that his father hadn’t the stomach to kill either? He rubbed his eyes – his mind had raced with that question for weeks now. He was too scared to ask his father, or his mother and cursed at himself.

Draco didn’t have much of an appetite and picked at the banquet – he wanted to be off and away back to the common room. Away from the frightened, fearful faces and those who clearly loathed him. Of course they all knew what had happened last year and he felt uncomfortable enough already.
…………………..

Draco sat down in the Slytherin common room. The others had gone to bed leaving him alone, the fire flickered. For the first time in as many day’s he felt safe. Safe from the Dark Lord, from the torture he had been forced to inflict on others.

He picked up his advanced transfiguration book and began to read in the flickering light from the fire. He pointed his wand at the fire and flames leapt up.

He did feel a little uneasy still – he couldn’t concentrate on the book and closed it. Snape was now headmaster. He who had taken on his - Draco’s - task and had killed Dumbledore instead.

He was still confused and didn’t understand whether he should feel happy that Snape had taken on his mission in the end. His mother had made Snape take the unbreakable vow. She had wanted to protect Draco. The Dark Lord had insisted that Draco take his father’s place as a death eater. With his father in prison – he – Draco, was now man of the house and head of the Malfoy family. It was his job to protect his mother and also to restore the Dark Lord’s respect for the Malfoy’s.

But, he should have been the one to kill the old man. Yes, the Dark Lord was pleased to hear that Dumbledore was dead. But, he was angry that his newest death eater couldn’t kill an old, weak man. Old man, he thought, that’s all he was and still, with the old man at his mercy he still couldn’t kill him. The Dark Lord had praised Severus Snape for doing the job Draco couldn’t. It made him sick, wasn’t it him after all who had got the Death Eater’s into Hogwarts?

His head throbbed again as the anger built. He pushed his anger back down and looked at his watch - it was getting late. He had already delayed going to bed, fearful that the dreams would begin again. He closed his book, stretched and climbed from the leather sofa. He walked slowly off down the stairs into the dormitories.
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