Unplanned Liars • Draco Malfoy

1. The Slug Club

It has been a very long time since all those things happened, but I still can't believe in the amount of luck we had during all those years. It was almost like we had drunk bottles of long-lasting Felix Felicis.

Everything started one afteroon, when I was walking alone through Diagon Alley during the summer before my sixth year at Hogwarts. It was kinda devastated, but some shops were still open. I had almost all things I needed except for new robes, so I went to Twilfitt and Tatting's so as to buy them. And this was where I bumped into Draco.

"Oh, hi, Draco," I said as I noticed him, standing on a stool.

He turned and saw me, too.

"Aurora?"

"You've known me since always and you have doubts?" I chuckled and a woman emerged from behind the counter, ready to take measure from me. And then another woman appeared, but this time I knew her.

"Good morning, Mrs. Malfoy," I said politely.

"Oh, Aurora, how nice to see you again."

Draco has known me for a long time, and his parents liked me. I wasn't from another decent wizarding family with ancestors back from the Medieval Times, but the Malfoys liked three things: that I was a pureblood, a Slytherin, and that my parents were quite important people at the Ministry (what they probably liked most). This is why once they even tried to make Draco and I a thing, but we just didn't like ourselves more than friends and they finally gave up.

Draco had left the shop before me, but later I was surprised to see him waiting outside.

"Waiting for someone?" I asked playfully.

"For you," he said, "I think I must tell you something."

He was really scared to tell me, but I was totally delighted he trusted me enough to say it. Draco was a Death Eater. And - a bonus - he had to kill Dumbledore. It wasn't a shock for me, I suspected he would become a one one way or another, willingly or not, after his father's fiasco at the Ministry. I knew it very well it was Voldemort's revenge. Draco told me his mother was frightened - mind you, I was, too. I promised I wouldn't tell anyone, even said I could do an Unbreakable Vow if he wanted, but he trusted me with my word. He said he told me so, because he'd be doing weird things this year, disappearing, and he had to have someone to back him. And I agreed.

It wasn't like I was on Voldemort's side on anything, but Draco's friendship was important to me, and I did hope he could somehow get out of this task...

On our train to Hogwarts I was sitting in a compartment with Draco and our fellow Slytherins - Blaise Zabini and those morons, Crabbe and Goyle. Suddenly, a third-year girl stepped inside.

"I'm supposed to deliver these to Aurora Mullen and Blaise Zabini," she panted. She had two scrolls of parchment tied with a violet ribbon. Blaise and I exchanged confused looks and I stood up, so I could reach my scroll from my seat beside Draco. The girl, breathless, quickly backed out.

"What is this?" Draco asked.

I unrolled my scroll at the same time as Blaise.

Aurora,

I would be delighted if you would join me for a bite of lunch in compartment C.

Sincerely, Professor H.E.F. Slughorn

Draco frowned as Blaise read his invitiation out loud.

"Who's Slughorn?" asked Blaise.

"A teacher, he taught my parents. Bet he's the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, I mean Umbridge was fired, wasn't she?" I said.