Traitor: A Draco Malfoy Story

fifteen

"And how long ago did this happen?" Dumbledore asked after Harry had guided me, face white, to his office to explain.

"I don't know, forty-five minutes ago, maybe an hour?" I rubbed my face with my hands.

Dumbledore began to pace. "I suspected that you weren't fully Muggle, but I don't think any of us can fully understand the magnitude of your power..." he trailed off. "You said you'd never made anything happen that was out of the ordinary when I was leaving your apartment. Is this still true?"

"Yes," I said. Getting a little embarrassed, I added, "I tried to move my hairbrush with my mind when you left. It didn't budge."

He was still pacing, muttering something under his breath. He finally turned to address me again. "It was very clear at Ollivander's that something was happening," he tapped his chin with his index finger. I don't know how he was so calm about this. Vapors rising from my skin like I had some sort of superpower, a tattoo I didn't have before that wasn't even complete--I was freaking out.

"The wand didn't even do anything!"

He shook his head. "The wand didn't--but you did. Did you feel anything, smell anything that was there one instant and gone the next?"

I remembered the breeze and the smell of daffodils, the memory filling me with dread. "I smelled flowers and I guess I felt a small gust of wind but I didn't do that."

Harry sucked in a breath and he and Dumbledore exchanged a look.

"Feelings like those happen when a wand bonds with a wizard," the Headmaster replied. "Remember what Mr. Ollivander said: the wand chooses the wizard."

"But I'm not a wizard," I snapped, frustrated. "I'm just an ordinary girl from New York City. I couldn't even brew a potion correctly today, and I most certainly cannot operate a wand. I'm..I'm normal."

"I fear," Dumbledore sighed. "that you are no ordinary girl."

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I sat in the Great Hall at the Slytherin table, picking at my food uninterestedly. Dumbledore hadn't exactly given me answers. It actually seemed he was a little stumped himself, though I got the feeling he wasn't telling me something. All he'd said was to inform him if something like that happened again and to check the snake on my neck often. He swore Harry and me to secrecy and sent us on our way.

I had split from Harry, mumbling something about wanting to be alone, and hurried to get dinner. The table was fairly empty when I had sat down, but now the students were filling the room, likely coming from study sessions at the library or late afternoon classes.

I saw Malfoy walk in, not looking at me, and he sat down next to his friends Crabbe and Goyle. They were absolute idiots, but mean. Why Malfoy would need them for his posse I couldn't fathom. He glanced up and saw me looking at him, and I quickly averted my eyes, though I could feel his glare boring into me. I couldn't believe I'd entertained the possibility of having any sort of feeling except hatred towards him earlier.

"Hey, you okay?" Jenna asked, nudging me with her elbow. She'd been here half as long as me and had already finished her meal. Now, she sat watching me push my peas and beef around in a circle, not bothering to actually lift the fork to my mouth.

I was tempted to say yes, that everything was fine, and that I didn't need someone other than Harry to talk to about what was going on. That would have been a complete lie. So, despite Dumbledore's orders to keep it quiet, I grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the Great Hall. "I need to talk to you," I whispered.