NEMESIS || Draco Malfoy

17

Venectu in my pocket, wand tugged away behind the waistline of my dark skirt, I stood in front of the Come and Go room, waiting for it to come.

It must've been around thirty seconds before the door appeared in front of me, almost making me worry it wouldn't open at all.

A small sigh left my lips when it did, slipping through the opened door and closing it behind me, hoping it would disappear to the outside world before anyone noticed it.

I took a different route this time, turning right instead of left, or going straight when I took a turn the last time. My eyes wandered across the various objects I could make out in the piles of clutter sprawled all across the room;

A few broomsticks propped in a corner here and multiple tables balancing on top of each other there. Enchanted keys flapping their magical wings in one part of the room while a rat hurried from one pile over to the other right in front of me.

It was dusty and dark; perfect for hiding an object as little as the vial in my hand. And, so, it didn't take long for me to find a different - and dare I say better — hiding spot than that desk.

All the way by the back-end of it — behind multiple pieces of broken furniture on which books and corked potions rested — an old, broken grandfather clock, leaning against the wall in a similar angle to the leaning tower of Pisa.

Knowing the side access panel would open, I heaved myself over the furniture blocking the way, kicking down a book or two in the process before successfully hiding the poison inside of the clock.

Jumping off the furniture, solid ground beneath my feet again, I slipped my wand into the palm of my hand to manoeuvre the fallen books back to their original place, making even the smallest details look like I was never here before.

Using magic seemed like the safer option, seeing as I didn't want to find out what kind of dark magic rested within those books, only waiting for me to touch them.

And then, I found my way back to that strange cabinet all by itself, almost seeming like the room led me to it intentionally.

My fingers traced the old wood carefully, going over all the cavities and bumps in it; trying to identify any carved in shapes; Wondering if they were runes when they turned out to be nothing more than an insignificant pattern.

When I cautiously opened its door, prepared for quite literally anything with my wand in hand, I let out a disappointed gust of air at the empty space.

I expected a Boggart, maybe, cursed objects or even a poison similar to mine.

What on earth could Malfoy want with an old, empty thing like that?

I rounded the piece of furniture a few more times before I sat on the floor with my back propped against an old couch opposite the bloody thing. Head falling into the back of my neck, eyes closed, and a sigh escaping my lips, I knew I needed to find out what it was.

Perhaps it had something to do with the cursed necklace Malfoy had used; I was glad to know at least that much about his apparent plan.

Cursed necklace first; I wondered what his next move might be.

Seeing as he tried to have someone else deliver the cursed item, chances were he was going to try the indirect way again. I had to admit; it was smart to lead them off the trail, though cowardly just as much.

That night in the library, I turned hundreds of pages to find anything on strange-looking cabinets, wooden cabinets, magical cabinets; nothing.

"Kai?" I mumbled absentmindedly; the brunette, having joined me in the library around an hour later; now sat opposite me. My eyes batted open when he didn't reply to my inquiry, glancing over the rim of my glasses to see his own head buried in a book similarly to mine.

A small smile played on my lips when I watched the frown on his features deepen, his hand raising to scratch his nose like he always did when he was particularly intrigued with a text he was reading.

It was only when his name slipped out of my mouth a second time, this time a little bit sterner in order to catch his attention, that he noticed it.

His eyes flickered over to me, an eyebrow raised in confusion. "Hm?" He hummed, eyes darting back down to the pages again only for a moment.

Stretching, I closed the thick book in front of me, pushing my glasses off my nose and on top of my head to hold the few strands of hair falling into my face back. He watched me curiously.

"Have you ever heard of... magical cabinets?"

The question seemed to catch him off guard, book lowering completely and his posture straightening. I could see the gears in his head turning before he asked, "Magical cabinets?" with a hint of confusion in his voice.

When I affirmed his words, and he still didn't say anything, I quickly shook my head, suddenly regretting bringing it up at all.

"What for?" He wondered. Obviously, he would ask, though I would've preferred it if he didn't.

I shrugged, eyes diverting off of his frame and instead roaming the almost empty library. "Just this thing Snape assigned."

He snorted humorously at my vague answer. "He assigned something on an object without telling you what object?"

Again, I just nodded, attention on the black lake outside of the window and the way the moonlight reflected in it just slightly.

"Well, the task is to figure out what the object is. He called it a... research project. Or something like that," I huffed, not quite sure I believed my own words. Though, Kai seemed to.

"Trust Snape to become worse of a professor every year," He mocked, shaking his head lightly when I looked back at him. His eyes were already on the pages in front of him again when they snapped up one more time to look at me.

"I'll keep my eyes and ears open for anything about... magical cabinets," He informed, a small smile on his lips as the words left his mouth. "Let you know if I stumble across anything."

I hummed in agreement, nodding lightly with a smile on my lips as well. "Thank you," I said sincerely, and with a single nod, his eyes went back to scanning the pages as a comfortable silence fell over us. 

A/N: Hi besties!! Friendly reminder that Adreanna and Kai are not dating?? Idk why, but a lot of people think they're exclusive or something when I thought I made it obvious enough that they're just like fwb ?? LOL sorry, my bad 

Still hope you enjoyed this little filler :)

See you tomorrow. <3