The cries echo in the castle. Walls collapse and spells ricochet dangerously close to his face. Whatever. He's looking for someone. Potter, to be exact. He claws back his wand and he gets out of this carnage.
Around a corner, he notices two familiar figures. He grabs them by the collar just in time to avoid a Tickling Charm.
« Draco ? » Crabbe gibbers.
« Where's Potter ? »
« He was talking with Luny Lovegood before it started. »
« Had something to do with the Ravenclaw Tower. » Goyle adds, too happy to find his leader back.
Without a glance, Draco rushes towards the stairs. Hopefully Saint Potter will still be there. Behind him, too used to serfdom, the two Slytherins follow.
Luck smiles on him when he finds Lovegood's blond tuft at the bottom of the tower. She is struggling with two Snatchers. Draco shivers when he recognizes the silhouettes of Havelock and Bradbury. He had to fall on them in the chaos of a battle. With a sneer, he sneaks behind them. It's the perfect time to make the men choke down four months of mockery. Hidden by a column, Draco waits for the right moment and brandishes his wand :
« Densaugeo ! »
The two wizards turn towards the source of the spell, ready to punish the cocky culprit. Their teeth, already disproportionately long, keep growing longer. The thin sneer that stretches Draco's lips fades when they raise their wands in concert. He won't have time to protect himself when... Havelock's eyes roll back as he falls backwards. Bradbury joins him, well amazed by the young Ravenclaw.
« Draco. » She welcomes him with her usual dreamy smile.
« Lovegood, where's Potter ? »
« I don't know. He's been gone for a long time. Protego ! »
« Luna, it's really important. » He urges, sticking his back to hers to counterspell a curse jumping at them.
« Ask the Grey Lady ! »
« Ah ! I guess where he is. Thanks ! Everte Statum ! »
The young man rushes forward, blind to his companions' skeptical glances. Four by four, they go up the stairs. The portraits are almost all empty, left to lend a helping hand to students and teachers.
« Draco, wait ! » Crabbe calls out when he heads for the seventh floor.
« What ? »
« We can't go. It's cursed. »
« Crabbe ! The Dark Lord is right behind the walls. You think I care if Snape banned a floor ? »
« No, but... »
« Okay, shut up and let's go. I know where Potty is. »
Overwhelmed by adrenaline and expectation, Draco is blind to the thickening mist as they approach the floor. Memories engulf his mind with each step he climbs. Not now ! Especially not now. He needs to focus, repress them for later. A creak pulls him out of his thoughts. He piles behind a half-destroyed wall. At the end of the corridor, Potter enters a room. He was right. When the door closes, he bolts forward. Just in time to grab the fading handle. The next moment, they are in the Room of Hidden Things. Anxiety immediately takes him by the throat. He spent too much time here. The smell of dust, the silence barely broken by the discreet beats of a lost Snitch and these mountains of objects and waste. He hates this place.
« Over here. » He hears Goyle mumbling.
« Come on, Draco. » Crabbe whispers, pulling him violently by the arm. « Don't be a wimp. »
YOU ARE READING
The Banshee - a Draco Malfoy fanfiction
FanfictionFreedom ... This word echoes like a dream, unattainable. At 16, Nora struggles to find her place in the world. Half banshee, she does not belong to the Black Forest where her mother came from. Half witch, maybe she has her place at Hogwarts. So when...
