The Other Castellan

Malfoys vs Weasleys

Chapter 15: Malfoys vs Weasleys

The rest of the summer passed by pretty quickly. And uneventfully, for the most part. Not that Lucas let that fool him. Something was going to happen. He just knew it. It was the way the Fates' minds worked. When things get a bit bland, add some excitement.

  It had happened when Lucius went with Lucas to Diagon Ally. All things considered, it wasn't as bad as it could've been, but something still happened. And in Lucas's opinion, that was bad enough.

  "Draco!" Lucius rapped on the door that connected to Lucas's room, with what sounded suspiciously like his cane.

  Lucas ran over to the door and threw it open. "Yes?" There, standing just behind the door, stood Lucius Malfoy in all his glory. He had his long, platinum blond hair brushed back and he wore long robes. In his hand, he held his cane- a long black pole, tipped with a silver snake head at the top.

  He tossed a letter at Lucas. "Your letter came today. We're going to Diagon Ally to get your stuff. I'm buying you a racing broom for your birthday, as well." 

  "Yes, father." 

  Lucius nodded once and turned away. "Don't forget to slick your hair back- it's a mess."

  Lucas scoffed quietly as he gently shut the door. A mess. Yeah, right. If his hair was a mess right now, then he was a karpos. His hair was ruffled, not "a mess."

  He went into the bathroom connected to his room, trying his hardest to keep his frustration in check. He hated having his hair slicked back, he hated Lucius Malfoy and he hated Voldemort. Not necessarily in that order.

  After slicking his hair back (READ: manipulating the Mist and pouring out a bit of Sleekeazy's Hair potion from the bottle), Lucas opened the letter and read it. It informed him that he needed to catch the Hogwarts Express like usual, from King's Cross station on September 1st. It gave him a list of the new books he would need to pick up, as well.

  Second-year students will require:

  The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2 by Miranda Goshawk
  Break with a Banshee by Gilderoy Lockhart
  Gadding with Ghouls by Gilderoy Lockhart
  Holidays with Hags by Gilderoy Lockhart
  Travels with Trolls by Gilderoy Lockhart
  Voyages with Vampires by Gilderoy Lockhart
  Wanderings with Werewolves by Gilderoy Lockhart
  Year with the Yeti by Gilderoy Lockhart

  Lucas stared at the sheet in disbelief. The Standard Book of Spells was surely for Charms- that he could understand. It wasn't as if he would learn the same spells over and over again each year, but the rest? That was most likely for Defence Against the Dark Arts, but why did they need so many books?

  Then there was the mystery of the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Lucas knew that the post was rumoured to be jinxed- Hogwarts had never kept a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher for more than one year for Zeus knows how long.

  He sighed. "Well, if they turn out to be rubbish, at least I won't have to deal with them next year."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

So Lucas found himself following his "father" down the streets of Knockturn Ally, a place that Lucius had failed to inform him that they were going to.

  Knockturn Ally was easily distinguishable from Diagon Ally. It was a dingy ally that looked like it was made of shops solely dedicated to the dark arts. The one that Lucius was leading him to- Borgin and Burkes- looked like the biggest shop on the street. It looked like the wizarding equivalent of an antique shop, albeit with much darker items.