The Brightest Black - A Dramione Fanfic

The Menagerie

Draco slammed the book in front of him closed in disgust.

Useless.

Utterly, impossibly useless.

It was certainly true that itching hexes and curses were quite common, but every one he found wore off after - at most - a day.

Hermione Black had been cursed a week ago.

It wasn't like he could go home and quiz his father. It was the middle of May, he had exams starting in a week.

And he'd already tried to write his mother about it. She'd told him that things were being handled, and he needed to focus on school and staying safe.

He scoffed.

Safe, what was safe?

The Daily Prophet had released an article explaining that Barty Crouch Jr had escaped Azkaban with the help of his parents, and he's then escaped his father's control and come after Harry Potter with the insane idea that killing the boy would bring back the Dark Lord. That aurors had arrived and rescued Harry Potter and two other Hogwarts students, one who had been cursed badly by Crouch Jr.

There was no mention of the Dark Lord returning.

Everyone was sitting fat and happy, at least outside of Hogwarts.

Inside - inside it was different.

Potter had shared his story. The news that two famous aurors had quit was not widespread; the Minister hiding it as best he could. But every student knew it. Dumbledore had announced at dinner that Harry Potter was speaking the truth. He'd even shared the news of Hermione Black's status, though he'd hidden the details.

The school had divided into three categories fairly quickly.

He didn't think those that were trying to remain neutral would last for long. Not once He made himself known.

"Interesting choice of books. I do not remember seeing skin-based hexes on the OWLs."

Draco jumped and looked up to find his head of house staring down at him, black eyes glittering.

He was screwed.

Professor Snape was a Death Eater.

"Well, um, I was curious..."

PLUNK!

A thick black tome with peeling lettering on its dark leather cover landed in front of him on top of the book he'd closed earlier in disgust.

"Return it to Madam Pince when you are finished. She knows you have my permission. As does the tome."

Professor Snape spun on his heel and swept down and aisle, his black cloak billowing behind him.

Draco didn't think he'd ever been so confused in his life.

Tentatively, afraid of what he might find, he shifted the books around until the ancient tome was resting on the table in front of him.

While the cover was illegible he could make out an ornate letter 'P' and what looked like an 'r' next to it.

He carefully opened the tome and began moving through it. There was no title page inside. Merely a long list of initials with two years next to them. Most of the initials ended with a P, but the last one was quite different.

S.S. 1977 -

He began to suspect what he was holding. And it rather terrified him, the implications of it.

He didn't know how long it took him to find the page he was looking for, but eventually he did find it.

It was the handwriting on the page that made him pause, thoughts coiling in his mind, just under the surface.