Green Eyed Monster | Draco Malfoy

65. Life, Love, and Death

Chapter 65 - Life, Love, and Death

On usual occasions where I needed to suck up and try specifically hard to be a model student, I don't tend to be late. Last year I rarely interrupted Umbridge's classes with my tardiness, and this year as I worked to warm up Slughorn, I was always early...but today, I was late for another influence I probably should have been taking more care to impress. Then again, my excuse was legitimate and painted on my face - quite literally, thanks to another bought of red splatter spell by Astoria Greengrass. This is why I found myself sprinting up the stairs to Dumbledore's office already ten minutes after when he had asked me to meet him. I was wise enough to stop outside the door and try to catch my breath: I already looked like a mess by the red stains all over my body, I didn't need to look anymore of one with how out of shape I was.

"Come in, Audrey."

It doesn't matter how powerful that man was, no one should have been able to do that.

Closing my eyes, I took one last deep breath and pushed open his heavy oak door. The room was as it always was: serene and sparkling with trinkets. One side was engulfed in a silvery glow from the Pensieve and somehow the room was as warm as a summer's day...but today this everyday sight came with a very different greeting. Today there was a stranger in the office. Not that Dumbledore wasn't allowed to have guests, of course, but this stranger looked more than a little disrupted by the fact I had entered the office, late for my own meeting where I hadn't realized we would have a guest speaker. He was old, at least in his seventies - then again, how can you ever tell with magic-folk? We hide our age well - and his gray beard almost reached his collar bones. The man looked troubled, his dark eyes flickering back and forth from myself to the headmaster.

"Audrey, I'd like you to meet Mr Burdeau," Dumbledore introduced politely. He didn't look at all as flustered as the other man did - he also didn't seem to care that the man was obviously so uncomfortable.

"Pleasure," I mumbled, walking forward nervously. I didn't need to look in a mirror to know that I was oozing discomfort and was not in the state to be meeting people - hopefully he wasn't anyone important or significant considering how openly he was scrutinizing the stain that Astoria had left. Today she had luckily attacked more robe than skin, but she had still gotten a good chunk of my neck and face. It had also gotten into my hair, which I knew from experience was the hardest place to remove it from.

"Is this a trick?" Mr Burdeau's low voice challenged Dumbledore instantly, his eyes narrowed and angry. I was surprised how quickly his emotions had changed from being so skeptical to so aggressive, but from Dumbledore's calm expression I couldn't help but wonder if maybe there was some kind of game being played.

"Not at all, Fernius," he responded calmly. The man turned back to me, his eyes still aggressive as he examined me again.

"Who did that to you, child?"

"Er - a house mate," I stuttered. I was surprised by the subject change and how during such a simple statement he still managed to sound so furious. "I'm not the most popular girl in the school at the moment."

I couldn't tell whether or not the man believed me, because instead of replying he turned back toward Dumbledore and glared. They were having some sort of silent conversation, I could tell, but I was having trouble understanding what could be so important it would drag out silently for so long. It could have been minutes. Full minutes of silence, which is intimidating at the best of times...nevertheless with such an undercurrent of rage from Mr Burdeau. Either way, it was more than I could do not to feel dizzy and oddly insecure from the intensity.

"Take it," Fernius Burdeau finally growled, moving over to hand Dumbledore something from the depths of his robes. "But I trust this will stay private."