The Banshee - a Draco Malfoy fanfiction

Chapter 2 : We meet

Leaving her room the next morning, Nora hesitates. How did she get there already? She will get lost in this damn castle. They could have given her a plan. She finally chooses a random corridor. With any luck, she will find her way to the Great Hall. It only remains to hope that someone will show her the way to the... She looks again at the schedule that McGonagall gave her yesterday. Here. Spell class with 4th year students of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw.

She has a hard time with this concept of houses. What's the point? It's nice to gather students by characters, but hello open-mindedness. Especially since the rivalries must go so well. It relieves her not to be sorted. Too dangerous according to Dumbledore. She might attack a student in his sleep. Nora rolls annoyed eyes. She is not so bestial.

Lost in thought, she did not pay attention to where she was going, which results in a curse and a painful nose when she meets a wall. Moaning while rubbing the sore appendage, she notices the huge picture that overlooks it. A wizard is desperately trying to teach trolls to dance. It is so wacky that she dangles her arms until a noise, right behind her, makes her jump. Turning around, she notices, to her dismay, that she is standing in front of a door that is far too massive to pass unnoticed. But her bewilderment is far from having reached its climax. The young blond man of the day before passes the panels. Her lips, as if inhabited by their own will, stretched into a silly smile.

Draco is exhausted, overwhelmed. He spent the night there, but nothing helped. This damn cabinet still doesn't work. A friction just in front of him makes him jump. It is only then that he noticed this ... kid. What's her name already ? He slams the door to prevent her from seeing inside and exclaims :

"What are you doing here ? You're following me, aren't you ? You're part of Potter's gang ? Say it !"

Unable to respond with words, she frantically shakes her head, but he is blinded by anger and fear. He grabs her cruelly by the arm and shakes her like a plum tree. When her head hits the wall, she lets out a painful growl. This simple sound reminds Draco of reality. He suddenly lets go, almost feeling guilty for the violence of his gesture. A word of apology brushes his lips without crossing its barrier. A Malfoy does not apologize. Instead, he coolly watches her rub the top of her head, face tensed with pain. When she notices his gaze, Nora smiles at him. Not the kind of meaningless grimace we send to strangers. No, rather as if she had heard the ghosts of the words he had kept silent for so long that even he had forgotten them. A smile that comforts, forgives and encourages. A smile that petrifies the sorcerer, horrifies him to see himself pierced right through. In a second state, he does what his survival instinct dictates to him: run away without looking back. He did not expect that. He thought he was dealing with a romantic kid with the IQ of a Horklump. Scouring the deserted corridors of the seventh floor, he refuses to analyze what has just happened but his mind keeps coming back to it. The smile of this girl dances in his head like as many as Chizpurfles in the plumage of an Augurey. In other words, she is dangerous. He must not approach her, stay as far away as possible. And that damn smile that doesn't let go ... His breathing becomes hoarse, oppressed by a sob stuck in his throat. He cannot cry. Not here, not now.Footsteps behind him finally distract him, urging the girl's face out of his mind. Turning around, he expects to see the arrogant face of Snape or Potter. Left to choose, he would much prefer to face any of them rather than the stumbling silhouette of Nora. So she won't leave him alone?

"Go away !" He spits at her before resuming his journey, lengthening his pace.

But the footsteps continue. Exasperated, he turns, displaying his most threatening air.

"Are you deaf besides being mute? Or just stupid? Stop following me !"

So much effort for so little result. She persists in tracking him down. Mocking insults, he continues on his way in great haste. After two more unsuccessful attempts to scare her away, he gives up and opts for the icy indifference of the Malfoys. The step slender and regular, he cuts through the air with the deep desire to flee from the girl following him. In this deserted corridor, there is only the soft friction of their school cape and the discreet hiss of shoes on the slab to break the castle's dusty silence. The slow rhythm of their steps slowly harmonize in an oddly soothing chant for the tormented spirit of the sorcerer. This melope suddenly loses all its magic when he no longer hears the steps of the girl behind him. Coming out of his torpor, he understands that he has surely succeeded in outdistancing her. And despite the resurgence of his anxiety, he can't help but look back. A few meters behind, she vacillates dangerously despite her palm against the solid wall. Her eyelids are closed, her lips tight, and her other hand supports her head. Draco doesn't take the time to ask himself more questions than that. He sees his chance there and leaves in a hurry. He turns once, twice, three times, enough to outwit her and finally reaches the stairs. When he turns around, he rejoices not to see her and only then, he wonders. Why was she following him ? Surely because of yesterday. She wants to blackmail him ? Or is she looking for more evidence before going to the director ? Fatigue and fear instill their poison in the boy's veins, quickly spinning into paranoia. If that's it, she must have understood everything yesterday when she saw his Mark. She already spoke to Dumbledore about it, who instructed her to spy on him to learn more about his plan. Maybe she is not even a student, but an Auror sent by the ministry to arrest him. Or worse, the Lord himself instructed her to kill him if he fails in his mission. She will pursue him in the slightest of his movements, observes each of his gestures and when she has had enough, she will launch an Avada Kedavra before disappearing in the mist. Panicked, Draco is paralyzed at the top of the stairs, his gaze plunged into the meanders of terror. He, the cold and cunning Slytherin, is incapable of logic at the moment. People melt in his mind, Nora taking the face of Bellatrix, then Dumbledore, Voldemort, Potter, Snape, his mother ... He no longer knows who to believe or what to do. Hand on the railing, he contemplates the void that opens before him for a moment. Since the Dark Lord wants him dead anyway ...