It is quite interesting to observe how certain people were of their beliefs. I, for one, changed my opinion quite frequently, especially about what I ought to do. The other day, Hogwarts was quite the playground for me - it was a nice place where I was for the most part in control. I had the information, after all, and I had all the time.
Unfortunately, the conflict undermined this peacefulness by quite a bit. The crumbling rubble, blood and injuries, the suffering reminded me of a rather grisly conclusion on these very grounds. Since it was not certain whether I'd be staying, it was only fair that I removed some of the obstacles in these people's futures…
"What do you want from me?! Let me down!"
That said, those annoying screams were grating on my nerves. The satisfaction of getting a non-verbal 'Levicorpus' still trumped that, but so was my urge to try the countercurse. How did a simple spell do such a specific thing, even? What are the limits of 'Lifting people by the ankles'? So many questions…
"Hey! I'm talking to you!"
I sighed dramatically and flicked my wand. Ferret boy landed on his back, looking somehow no worse to wear - must be the hair wax - though he did take the sweet time dusting himself off. Malfoy seemingly saw my silence as negligence and raised his arm. Hmm… no change in the magic of the blood - it's not even approaching the hand.
"Stupefy!"
Unfortunately, the spell reached its mark. There would be a price to pay, had I been Harry Potter, but even the most basic Darkin magic allowed me to shrug this off, dare I say, about as quickly as a half-giant.
"Diffi-" and float on his ankles, Draco shall.
"I am, as you can see, a bit tired of these games." I rasped through Zed's mask. It sounded much less goofy than a voice changer on a Stark suit, and that was not my embarrassment speaking. Evidence: the shivering Malfoy. "Owl Narcissa, like you always do, for some new dress robes. Now, is that too difficult to do?"
My audience did not respond. It was a bit late, in retrospect. I should perhaps show why this must be done.
***
Draco did not enjoy being kidnapped, no he did not. In fact, he would tell his father about this, if it was not precisely what said kidnapper was asking him to do. The room was rather featureless, so he could not pinpoint exactly where he was supposed to be. It was also cold, because it was a winter night, and that bastard could not conjure some fire.
'A bastard that somehow kidnapped a student from Slytherin, right under Snape's nose. In the one place his father said was the safest other than the Manor.'
Draco pushed away those distracting thoughts. They did not matter, now that he had to figure a way out. Without being able to use his wand. The Stunning spell doing nothing. All while feeling the creeps from the unnaturally long shadows on the floor.
Of course, a barbaric Mudblood would not understand certain curses had hostility to them - but a proud pureblood like himself did. So when Draco landed, he rolled away from that as soon as he could. That was, not before making sure he did not drop anything precious. It was that fact and not the complete resistance from the kidnapper that he failed to escape. Of course…
Draco's thoughts cycled these, his minds a bit sleepy from being up so late, before spiking pain erupted around his body. It felt like those ancient family curses that his father would say Mudbloods deserve. And obviously, it hurt unlike anything he had imagined.
His blood felt like fire, as the kidnapper whispered something. If he could see from the darkness, Draco would notice his veins glow velvet red, crisscrossing over his pale skin. And just before he could faint from it, the pain stopped.
Draco Malfoy was not more certain about anything in his life. He did not want to feel that, ever again.
"Please! Please! I'll do it, I'll do it. Don't do… that… again."
And, convincing himself that his father would understand and resolve it, Draco hastily wrote a letter - letters as elegant as always, he was not like those shameful blood traitors and Muggleborns - not noticing a single drop of blood, left upon the pages.
By the time Draco woke up, he found himself on the dorm bed, a bit tired. He could not recall why his arms were a bit sore, or last night's memories were somehow blurry. It did not matter much, he reasoned, and got to the bathroom for some makeup.
***
A few days later, I excused myself to Hermione for an early night, and made my longest journey yet, following the single blood droplet that should've arrived in Malfoy's Manor. Owl post truly was convenient, and so was the dense forestry around said manor. Why, one might ask? Well, the perpetual shadows and constant cover, along with various wild animals made for perfect cover.
It was when I was right near the concealing spell that I allowed my shadow forward and switched places with it, right over the barrier. Disorienting as though that was, the near silence of this method did not reveal me to anyone or anything within the manor. I tried to 'feel' blood from inside the walls - not a single house elf present. All in all made sense, given how Dobby should scare Malfoys from having more disloyal servants.
What I did discover was the presence of four others in the room with who should be Lucius Malfoy. Another group was on a different floor, also five in numbers - Narcissa, possibly the wives of Lucius's visitors. Or the other way around, but since I won't be raiding them yet, that bore little significance. The single drop of blood was located in a different room, near the first group - in all likelihood, where the Malfoy sketchiness should be.
I shifted into the shadows again and reappeared in the same room. The letter was placed in a cupboard, but there seemed to be more interesting objects elsewhere. A ledger was marked with a silver peacock pin - too cliche to even sigh at - that had all known Death Eaters and their locations. It should be noted that these were actually worthless at the current moment, as these names could only be said in Floo and meant really nothing if one wasn't keyed into the system.
It did mean, however, that if some Slytherin kids were to call home, I could potentially know which house they belonged to. An easier way, I reminded myself, would be to remember the last name, since pureblood families were obsessed with them. I put the ledger back into place and scoured the space again. Other than clearly cursed objects, nothing seemed to be of informative value.
I finally opened the cupboard with the letter - all neatly stacked on one column was where the recent one went. The other one, whose letters were fewer in numbers and all sealed as opposed to the former, was where I dug up. Lucius had to be thanked for his orderly arrangement, because a seal removal could be easily found on the desk, which I used to open all of these.
He truly did himself a favor destroying himself. These were a list of weaknesses that Lucius gathered about businesses and politicians in and out of his control. I did not have to take them, since my memory would be keeping track of all of them. If there's one I'd like to turn against Lucius… Well, taking some of his many letter papers and some ink - that spare quill looks expensive - should do the trick. Better yet, impersonating Lucius and dealing damage to other Death Eaters by the sneaky means they loved seemed perfect.
'I'll see you next time, Lucius.' I whispered as I disappeared away, back to Hogwarts. 'Don't go ruining yourself, now.'