Lumos

13| Cold Steele

Four years ago . . .

"Slow down!" I shouted after Malfoy. He'd gotten a bit taller in a year, so his strides were longer as he sprinted across the courtyard. He slowed to a stop, bending over to catch his breath.

"I thought I saw it," he said, panting.

"What?" I asked, catching up with him. I slumped on the grassy ground, stretching out in the sun.

"A Niffler," Draco explained, sitting next to me. "They find treasure."

"Why would you need treasure?" I asked. "Aren't you rich?"

"Yeah," Draco smirked. "I just thought it would be cool if I had one. Hey," he squinted at me, "have you seen where I live? It's huge."

"I saw it in the papers once. It is big."

"I know," he agreed. "Father says it's going to be mine one day. Would you like to see the manor in person? It's bigger inside. But I'll warn you; it's cold."

"Cold?"

"Freezing. Always. Sometimes I spend the day outside, but it gets lonely. To be honest, I hate this school. But I don't complain because it's never cold, you know what I mean?"

"But it snows here during the winter. Then it's really cold."

He laid onto the grass. "Not that kind of cold, Steele. You wouldn't understand. I don't know how to explain it." He sighed, staring up at the sky.

I decided to change the topic back to Nifflers. "If you did see a Niffler, I'd assume it was Hagrid's. He owns all sorts of things." I squinted under the glare of the sun.

"What an oaf," Malfoy snickered. "Have you seen the way he walks? Side to side, as if he's about to topple over or something."

"Leave him alone," I frowned. "He's quite nice, once you get to know him."

Malfoy looked at me, tilting his head slightly. "Sometimes I feel like you don't belong here," he said with a roll of his eyes. "You're weird. Like, a Ravenclaw, or something." Ravenclaws were brilliant-literally. He had no idea what he was talking about.

"Actually, my parents-"

"There it is!" Malfoy said, getting to his feet. "Come on!"

He did eventually catch the Niffler. And when he did, he threw it right into the Forbidden Forest.

"Why would you do that?" I asked, horrified. "Do you know what kind of creatures live in there?"

"He deserved it," Malfoy said. "The oaf." I didn't like that word.

I watched as he walked away, realizing how cold his heart really was. There was no deeper meaning behind it. Draco Malfoy was ice that you couldn't melt using fire. A chunk of coal with no hidden diamond. A stubborn oyster with no pearl. He was ruthless, and that really was the end of it. He did what his head told him to; whatever his brain had been programmed with. A puppet.

Now.

Easter holidays weren't nearly as fun as Christmas holidays, but who could complain about a break? Everyone was being shipped back home. The Hogwarts Express whistled, ready to leave.

I sat in the compartment alone. Good. Time to rest. I'd been studying madly the past few weeks, taking my last couple of exams. Malfoy had been avoiding me, sneaking warning glances at me every time he saw me next to either Harry, Hermione, or Ron.

I lay my head back.

Peace.

And then there was none.