The Game | D.M

40

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'Party'

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October 31, 1996

Aria Zabini

The library was eerily quiet, the kind of silence that weighed on your shoulders. I was deep within the Restricted Section, surrounded by towering shelves of forbidden knowledge. It was well past curfew, but I didn't care. 

I needed answers—needed to find out anything about that cabinet.

I had been spending weeks and weeks examining the cabinet and trying my best to figure out what exactly it was about it that made me feel so pulled towards it. Plus, I had been doing it all on my own, exempting it from Draco.

I was still mad at him.

I had sifted through book after book, skimming pages, scanning for anything remotely helpful. My patience was wearing thin when, finally, I found it: a section in a dusty, old book talking about vanishing cabinets. 

My breath hitched. This had to be it. I quickly closed the book, my heart racing as I processed what I had just discovered.

Without wasting another second, I shoved the book back onto the shelf and hastily put away the rest. But just as I was about to make my way out of the Restricted Section, a noise—soft, but distinct—caught my attention. My entire body froze. I wasn't alone.

I glanced around, panic settling into my bones. My mind raced with thoughts of Filch or worse—Snape. I quickly slipped out of the Restricted Section, keeping my steps light as I made my way to the exit. But before I could escape the library, a hand suddenly grabbed my arm, spinning me around and slamming me against the cold stone wall.

I gasped, eyes wide as I struggled to adjust to the darkness. My heartbeat thudded in my ears, and I tried to make out the face of whoever had grabbed me. For a moment, all I saw was shadows, but then the figure came into focus.

Draco bloody Malfoy.

I scoffed, rolling my eyes, and shoved him off of me. "What the hell is wrong with you?" I snapped, my voice sharp but kept low so no one else would hear. My pulse was still racing, a mix of irritation and relief settling in now that I realized it wasn't some authority figure.

Draco didn't respond right away, his eyes narrowing as he looked down at me. He didn't move, didn't step back. There was something about the intensity of his gaze that made the air feel thick between us.

"Why are you sneaking around here?" he finally asked, his voice a low whisper.

I crossed my arms, staring him down. "I could ask you the same thing."

His jaw clenched. "You're not supposed to be in the Restricted Section."

"And you're not supposed to be stalking me around the castle, yet here we are," I shot back.

Draco's eyes flickered with something I couldn't quite place, but he remained rooted to the spot, still too close for comfort. The tension between us had been simmering for weeks, ever since that night in the Astronomy Tower. It felt like it was about to reach a boiling point.

I exhaled sharply, trying to rein in my emotions. "I'm trying to find a way to do this, you are no help, prancing around with Astoria. So I had to do things on my own."

His eyes darkened at the mention of Astoria, but he said nothing, just stared at me like he was trying to figure something out.

"And what did you find?" he asked quietly, his voice more controlled now.