Please Be There If I Remember

Chapter Forty-Six: Suspicions

 "Would you care to tell me why I have been woken up in the middle of the night by Filch with you, stating he found you out 'wandering the halls?'"

Umbridge's voice was shrill and holding some kind of abhorrence behind it that Draco didn't even want to begin to decipher. She looked pretty ridiculous in her light-pink nightgown, the silky robes flitting past down her knees, her hair in slight disarray, and the back of her head a bird's nest.

If his mind wasn't running a thousand miles a minute and all his focus was on keeping his voice steady, he might have laughed.

When Draco didn't answer right away, she started again. "Mr. Malfoy, I know you are doing your best to get information, but was it really necessary to be outside so late after curfew?"

Get information?

He bit his lip in thought. "Seriously, Headmistress, I was only out there to help you."

She sneered. "I'm not sure you are. You have come to me with nothing so far. Tell me, what have you actually learned?"

Draco could barely think over the pounding in his ears.

It took him too long to process and answer, and Umbridge leaned back in her chair. "I see. I must have been mistaken. Mr. Malfoy," —please stop saying my name like that— "is there anything you would like to tell me?"

Draco shook his head, hoping for a way out. "No, Headmistress."

"Pity. Well, if you're so sure about that, I'm sure you would consent to taking Veritaserum to prove it, would you not?"

What?!

There's no way she's being serious.

"Headmistress, I really don't know what taking Veritaserum would prove—I'm telling the truth to you. I haven't learned anything yet."

If he was anywhere else, Draco would have been proud of the calm facade he still maintained, no matter how much he was freaking out internally.

"I don't believe that," Umbridge all but hissed out.

Okay, Draco thought to himself. Maybe it might turn out that I can resist it. You never know—I might be skilled in blocking Veritaserum, just like I know occlumency!

Draco didn't need the truth serum to know he was lying to himself.

He sighed underneath his breath, gathering any remaining strength left in his exhausted body. "I have nothing to hide, Headmistress. And I'll take Veritaserum to prove it."

There could be a chance she is lying—where would she get it from anyway? Draco knew that basing his decision on an assumption might have been the wrong choice, and his stomach plummeted to his feet when Umbridge pulled out a clear vial from a loose pocket in her nightgown.

Well shit. She really has Veritaserum.

And that was the shock setting in—his eyes blinking owlishly at the very obvious bottle of truth serum in Umbridge's hand.

"Just three drops should suffice," Umbridge remarked gleefully.

Draco gulped as his throat dried up in resigned preparation.

I'm really doing this. Why didn't I just wait in the classroom? Even I know better than to wait outside in the middle of a hallway after curfew! It was just luck that last time that it was Harry there and not Filch.

At least if he had been caught then, Umbridge wouldn't have been suspicious and assume he was trying to learn information about something. Now he was stuck in her office, about to drink Veritaserum and would probably end up spilling all his secrets anyway.