I knelt near the stairs and listened. Strange men had been visiting since the end of my first year at Hogwarts, and Daddy had been especially distant. As I gripped the stair rail, I strained to hear.
“I hear He is making moves,” a male visitor said.
“What kind of moves?” Father asked.
“Something regarding Hogwarts,” the man replied.
“Lucious, perhaps Draconia should skip this year,” Mother said.
“The Dark Lord does not turn on his own, and we have always been loyal.”
“But what if something happens?” she urged.
“Is she a Malfoid?” Father asked.
“Well, yes, but what if He unleashes something? Perhaps one of those magical beasts, or a plague curse, or something… worse.” She sounded desperate.
“Agreed. There are many chambers and secrets at Hogwarts. Best we let the Dark Lord discover what he needs, and your daughter can remain safe at home—”
The guest stopped.
“NO!” Father struck something, perhaps a table.
I heard breathing. Father’s proclamation seemed to hang in the air.
“Optics! If we start making moves, acting BEFORE the Dark Lord acts, it proves a link. We’ve had Aurors all over us once before. I won’t… we won’t go through that again. We wait. If and when something happens, then and only then will we intervene,” Father said.
“Narcissa?” the guest asked.
“I support my husband,” Mother replied.
“Fine, then, I’ll do the same. My kid stays at Hogwarts, but the moment something happens, he’s out. Mark my words, something is afoot at that school, and it’s no longer safe.”
The guest tapped something, perhaps a table.
He approached the entrance hall, and I shrank back into the shadows. My parents followed, their shoes clicking against the marble. I caught a glimpse of them, always so composed as they escorted him out.
After they returned to the drawing room, Mother stopped and glanced back at me. For a moment, our eyes met.
She nodded.
One simple gesture, and I understood. We Malfoids must always be composed, even if it meant this would be one of my most terrifying school years.
The following morning, Father left on business, and I sat in the drawing room. Mother sat poised and proper upon an ornate couch, one arm resting on the seat. Every so often, she moved to turn the page.
“Mother…” I gulped.
“Yes, dear.” She didn’t take her eyes off the page.
“If I need to defend myself… ah… what’s the most powerful spell? You know, something… that can…” I stared at the floor.
A nearby elf gasped. The creature regarded me, then Mother.
Mother snapped the book shut and waved the creature away. The elf disappeared in a swirl of motion. Moments later, the door snapped shut.
She drew her legs off the sofa and patted the space beside her. I sat down and stared at the floor.
“There are the Dark Arts. Powerful arts, but a refined lady has no place learning them. You are a Malf—”
She stopped.
“I know, Mother! But I need to know!” I looked up at her.
I must have had some intensity in my eyes, or something, because she looked genuinely surprised. Then she suppressed it.
“The worst and most heinous spell is Avada Kedavra.” She looked away.
“Avada Kedavra?” I asked.
“It is the Killing Curse, and something not to be taken lightly. To kill is no easy thing. Certainly, there are other spells which can kill, but that particular spell…” She paused. “It does so in a way that’s… unsurvivable. Well, there was one case.”
“Pot-head?”
“Hmm.” She gave a single nod.
“To kill is no easy thing, my sweet.” She gripped my hand.
What I saw in her eyes wasn’t concern. No, this was regret. Had she seen something… perhaps done something?
“So yes, my sweet girl. Never ever cast Avada Kedavra. Well, not that you could. One does not merely wave their wand and say a magic word to make things happen. Spells require power, and that one in particular… well, only a particularly gifted mage can pull it off. But still, I never want you to try. If anything, my sweet, just run. There’s never a need to fight.”
She smiled and clasped my hand.
“Y… yeah.” I nodded.
I remembered all that in an instant.
Yep. The moment it took me to draw my wand, channel magic down my arm, and shout…
“Avada Kedavra!”
Except, NOTHING FREAKING HAPPENED! Find the original chapter at g.com.
The Voisych turned to regard me. She looked at the wand, then at me, and realisation dawned.
“I have trouble with faces, but I never forget a voice. It was you who told them to ‘act’.”
She approached slowly.
Her face split into a rictus grin. A truly horrid thing.
“Avada Kedavra!” I thrust out my wand.
Nothing! The tip glowed green. Then the light faded.
Plum smirked. Ghostly tendrils emerged from her, and her body rippled. Her clothes and flesh turned into a shadowy mass.
“Avada Kedavra!” I whipped my wand around.
The tip glowed, and then the magic fizzled out.
Plum’s form unravelled. She became a creature of white energy with a vaguely feminine shape. A cloak of shadow surrounded her, while her hair transformed into tendrils of green ghost-fire. She had no facial features save a mouth—not a mouth, but an unnatural crescent grin filled with fangs.
“Thank you. I’m famished!”
She came at me.
I jumped to the side.
“Expulso!” I whipped my wand around.
An explosion shook her form, and she shuddered from the impact.
“Incendio!” I summoned fire.
She howled. Mage-fire abated instantly. A shock wave hurled me into the wall. Her high-pitched scream buffeted me. It felt as though an invisible force were pressing me against the wall. Fiery tendrils wrapped around my neck, and they felt oddly cold.
She came closer and, just for a moment, stopped screaming. Her mouth opened unnaturally wide, and…
“Expulso!” I roared, aiming my wand at her face.
The air popped. My ear rang, and her head snapped sideways. The blast hurled her into a wall. The tendrils released me, and I fell. I hit the ground, gasping.
Behind me, she rose.
I fired off spells while running for the door. Blasts tore chunks from the wall. I reached the door when…
For a heartbeat, I heard a hundred different voices, followed by a howl.
A blast struck me.
The world exploded.
I tumbled across the snow. How’d I get outside? My face and body hurt. Debris rained around me. Behind me, the side of the shack had been blown outwards.
The Voisych floated out.
I scrambled to my feet and ran. Tendrils reached for me.
“Expulso! EXPULSO!” I fired blindly, and the air popped.
I waved a hand, and my broom flew towards me. I mounted it and took to the air.
I’m free! At last, I’m out of there, and—
A tendril wrapped around my leg.
I was pulled so hard I couldn’t stop myself. I slammed into a bush, feeling the impact in my teeth. She dragged me towards her.
I held out a hand, and my broom flew towards me. Tendrils caught it, stopping the broom an inch from my hand.
There came a crack.
Wood splintered, and she tossed it aside.
“Fear not. Your voice will join my choir.”
The Voisych loomed over me.
She opened her mouth. Her jaw popped on one side, then the other. I heard so many voices, all whispering at the back of her throat.
Voices… choir… sounds…
“Silencio!” I pointed my wand.
She gagged. All sound abated.
I gripped my wand with both hands and poured everything I had into the spell. She lashed out at me, but somehow, a giant shell formed around her. She clutched her throat and let out a silent howl. She looked as though I were choking her.
Her tendrils became confined within the rapidly shrinking bubble. As I channelled my magic, so too did her prison shrink.
Her form burst into tendrils of white, black, and green energy. The Voisych swirled around the shell, desperately trying to escape.
I staggered to my feet, wand outstretched. I grunted, and the shell shrank further. The tendrils broke apart into tiny orbs, perhaps the dozens or hundreds of voices she’d consumed.
“AHHH!” I jabbed my wand forward. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
The bubble shrank.
The voice essences dissolved until only one remained. An orb of glowing white, and within it, I glimpsed a boy.
“Harry!” I gasped.
The sun rose over Hogwarts by the time I returned. I’d walked back.
I must look quite the sight indeed. Ha ha ha. My hair’s a complete mess, hanging over one side of my face. There are likely twigs, debris, and other nonsense tangled in there. I have a date with a comb later.
Then there’s my attire. I’m covered in muck, leaves, and other remnants of my fight. Oh, and my face is bruised.
Yep. I, Draconia Malfoid, have been in a tussle.
Harry’s voice floated above my wand, contained within a magical barrier. His face appeared and disappeared, and seeing him gave me courage.
Worse, teachers and students were already up and about. I would find out later that the prefect had reported me. Then the whole of Slytherin House had been awake, discussing why I’d run off. Hannah fuelled the rumour mill, of course she did, and by the time I’d returned, a dozen stories were floating around.
Malfoid had a breakdown.
Malfoid ran away from school.
Malfoid went to get her revenge.
Malfoid had a boyfriend.
Malfoid joined the Death Eaters.
Sorry to tell you, Hannah, the last one’s true.
I didn’t know any of this as McGonagall strode out of the school.
“Just where have you been, young lady? We’ve been up half the night looking for you!” McGonagall said.
I ignored her and made for the entrance.
“Miss Malfoid!” she snapped.
I stopped and gave her the side-eye. She opened her mouth to speak, then noticed the voice.
She gulped.
“May I return this?” I asked.
She clutched the hem of her dress and nodded.
“You may,” she said.
I turned on my heel and strode into the school. I held my head high as I brushed past students. Slytherins gathered around me. I ignored them and their many questions.
I reached the floor leading to the hospital wing when someone grabbed me.
“What happened?” Blamus McGole asked.
I gave him a sideways glare. He recoiled. The others fell silent.
I turned and walked towards the hospital wing.
I found the Pot-heads waiting at the entrance. Hermione stood with her arms folded, legs apart, and chin jutting out. She looked ready to fight when…
“Harry!” Ron gasped.
I ignored the plebes and strode into the hospital wing. Hagrid and Dumbledore stood over Harry.
I ignored them, too.
I thrust out my wand, and the voice floated back to Harry. Released from the shell, the orb of light fell onto his chest and slithered up his neck before slipping into his mouth.
Moments later, he gasped. His eyes snapped open, and he looked at me.
“Draconia!” He sat up.
I folded my arms and raised my chin.
Harry blinked, then remembered his place.
“Thank you.” He nodded.
“Miss Malfoid, come to my office. We have matters to discuss,” Dumbledore said.
“Professor, respectfully…” I regarded the man. “I haven’t slept. May we continue this conversation at a more reasonable hour?”
Dumbledore glanced at Harry, then at me. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
“We’ll convene after dinner.” Dumbledore bowed his head.
“Thank you.” I nodded.
I regarded Harry. He sat up, looking confused. He glanced at his friends, then back at me.
“Humph!” I stuck up my nose and walked away.