Mischief Managed (HP One Shots)

Care of Magical Creatures (and Peers) | Draco Malfoy

Hey y'all! I'm so sorry I've been off the radar! This, that, and another thing... but I'm back! And with a fulfilled request, no less!

For 7BlueDayDreams hope you like it, lovely! This is my first DM imagine, and it was a challenging one, but I enjoyed it, and I hope I did it justice for you! <3

Care of Magical Creatures (and Peers) | Draco Malfoy

~*~*~*~

"What is it this time? A puppy? An injured Bowtruckle? Another 'totally harmless' baby Acromantula that's going to try to eat Millicent's cat?"

"Salazar, that was one time!" I defended myself with a huff, scowling at the fond exasperation that dressed my best friend's face. It was a well-known thing in the Slytherin fourth year girls' dorms, my fondness for all animals, as well as my tendency to sneak them into aforementioned dorms. In my defense, how was a puppy or an injured little Bowtruckle supposed to survive that deadly Forbidden Forest? As for the Acromantula... well, I've certainly made better decisions.

Becca smiled indulgently at me, putting the book she was reading face-down on her bed, so as to give me her full attention. "So, what is it, then?"

My earlier defensiveness melted away at the genuine show of interest, replaced with an excited grin. No matter how vexed she got with me, Becca always supported my avid interest in magical creatures, just as I always supported her through her Quiddich fanaticism. It was just what best friends did, and we were best friends ever since the first year. In retrospect, I supposed it was inevitable - the only two muggle-born girls sorted into the notoriously pure-blooded House were bound to find each other and stick together - but that didn't diminish the strength or rock the foundation of our friendship. In the face of the prejudices, both from our own House and the others, Becca and I stuck together and we made it work, without losing the parts of ourselves that weren't what others deemed to be typically Slytherin. We even made other friends along the way; including, as though the target on our backs weren't big enough for being muggle-born, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, the Weasleys and a bunch of other Lions and Badgers and Eagles.

That was one part of us that was wholly Snake; our ambition. It just so happened that our thirst wasn't for power, it was just for staying true to the kind of people we were.

I bounded over to Becca's bed, turning out my robes to reveal the sleeping ferret I'd found on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. "Isn't he just the sweetest?" I gushed, rubbing a finger lightly over the top of the ferret's head.

"Salazar, give me strength."

Becca flopped back on the bed, and the motion made the dear thing wake up. He sniffed the air around him, before crossing the distance to Becca and snuggling up next to her.

"He likes you!" I grinned, feeling rather triumphant at the reluctant smile on my best friend's face. It meant that she, once again, would humour me. "Ferrets are very demonstrative creatures, you know."

She raised he eyebrow at me. "Is that so?"

"Course," I brushed her suspicious look off easily, feigning confidence. "I couldn't leave him there, Becs, imagine what the other creatures would have done to him?"

"So you brought him to our dorms, instead?" she asked dryly. "Why not take him to Hagrid?"

The same question she asked every time, and I gave her the same answer. "We made friends, and he would miss me if I just handed him off to Hagrid."