Muggle | 𝐹𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑊𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑙𝑒𝑦

Chapter 111

Throughout the next few days at Hogwarts, Professor Dumbledore didn't show up for the meals and I knew that he had gone to search for the Horcruxes.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione noticed this too and found it rather curious, but when they asked me, I told them that I didn't know, and that I was only aware of big matters. And to my great relief, they let it go.

The lessons were more enjoyable than ever for me now that I could be a part of their practical works. I was glad that I was doing well in Charms and Transfigurations, catching up with everybody else.

I was rather disappointed that I wasn't the top of the Potions class this year, but then again happy that Harry was now Slughorn's favorite, which meant that everything was going as planned.

I kept going back to the Room of Requirements every now and then, trying to keep on practicing different spells.

At times, I kept forgetting about who I really was and to whom I was related to, everything still feeling surreal to me.

Three years ago, all that mattered to me was passing through my math exams at school and the most exciting thing that could happen around me was waiting for the next Harry Potter movie to come out.

But now things had taken an interesting turn; the Harry Potter world was real, Regulus Black was somehow alive and was my father, and I was a half-blood witch.

I kept wanting to talk to someone about it; Fred, Sirius, and even Dumbledore. But Dumbledore was missing and sending letters to Fred and Sirius occasionally would've looked suspicious.

So I decided to try and forget all about it for the time being and go with Hermione to the library to catch up with our homework.

That day, Ron and Harry joined us after their Quidditch practice and walked over our table.

"You know what Ron and I have been thinking, Lexi?" said Harry in a quiet voice, sitting down.

"Actually," Ron started, "I didn't say anything —"

"—That maybe you might know something about Malfoy."

"Drop it, Harry," said Hermione, scribbling down her essay.

"Look, I'm just saying!" Harry then tried to reason in an even lower voice, "She knew about Mr. Weasley, she knew about Sirius... maybe she knows what Malfoy's up to!"

"Well, I'm sorry but I don't, Harry," I said. But then, a thought suddenly popped into my head. "Although, I've got an idea."

"What?" he mused.

"Maybe... I could get closer to him and try to find out what he's doing."

"Are you mental?" Ron scoffed. "He'll get suspicious."

"I might not be all that smart, Ronald," I started with a grin, "but I can be cunning when it comes to certain things. I'm sure I'll find a way around it."

I knew I could use spying as an excuse to get closer to Draco and somehow help him, so Harry and the others wouldn't become suspicious as to why I would be trying to talk to him.

I had learned in those two years to loath Draco Malfoy, but the truth was, I never used to feel this way toward him before, when I was reading the books.

If anything, I used to think that there was place for hope for him, if only there was someone to guide him to the right path.

      I wasn't going to stop him from performing his plan, afraid that the timeline would change for the worst. But I knew how alone he must've been feeling. How scared.

      He needed someone to lean on. And despite the feelings I had for him at the moment, I knew this was something fourteen-year-old-Lexi would've done.

The only problem was, each time I even thought about trying to be good with him, he did something to piss me off. And of course the evil within me would've never passed on a chance to roast someone.

***

Over the weekend as everyone went to sleep, I decided to pay another visit to the Room of Requirements, this time having an exciting idea in mind.

I wanted to see what my Patronus would look like.

So getting into my casual clothes which I had bought over summer, I left the common room.

When I entered the room which I always practiced in, I took my wand out of my pocket and got ready.

I closed my eyes, trying to search for a happy memory, focusing. I thought back at the Christmas vacation I had spent in Netherlands with my parents, when I was eight.

I remembered that New Year, when I was sitting on my mother's lap in our hotel's balcony. Dad came out and threw a blanket on the two of us as we all watched the fireworks. It was probably one of the happiest moments of my life.

With that thought, I raised my wand and said out loud, "Expecto Patronum!"

As I said the spell, I saw silvery lights leave the end of my wand, but before it could take the form of any animal, it disappeared.

I tried once more, thinking about the first time I saw Hogwarts, but it didn't work and failed again. The memory probably wasn't strong enough, seeing as at that moment I thought I was just dreaming.

I tried the spell again and again, each time thinking of a new memory. But at last, I thought about the moment I had found out that Sirius was alive and that I was a witch.

I raised my wand one more time, saying even louder, "Expecto Patronum!"

My eyes widened in excitement as the silvery light shot into the sky and it took a form of an animal, floating away playfully.

I laughed, watching the owl flying around me with amusement.

"That is not what I expected," I said to myself, smiling.

I watched the owl for long minutes until I finally put my wand back in my pocket, making it disappear.

But the moment I opened the door to leave the room, I came to a halt when I saw Draco running through the corridor, looking behind his shoulder, as if to see if anyone was after him.

I quickly closed the door shut behind me, and at its sound, Draco finally turned around, stopping in his tracks as he spotted me.

"What are you doing here, Hooper?" he snapped.

"I could ask you the same thing," I said, shrugging.

"Look, we don't have time," he said urgently and started walking quickly toward me. "Step out of the way."

"What?"

"Just get inside that room before it disappears!" he hissed.

"Why?"

"Now's not the time to be a detective, Hooper!" he snarled, but then his eyes widened and turned around, looking over at the end of the corridor, where now we could both hear footsteps approaching us.

But when we turned around, we saw that the door to the Room of Requirements had already disappeared.

Draco cursed under his breath, closing his eyes as if thinking hard of something, apparently trying to make another door appear.

"Who's after you?" I asked.

"Shush!"

"Don't shush me!"

"Then stop interrupting my thoughts!"

"Oh, I'm sorry," I started sarcastically, "I didn't know you were capable of thinking."

Draco then turned his cold gaze on me, glaring down. He opened his mouth to retort, but was cut short as a voice behind us said,

"Dear, dear... look what do we have here!"