The Game | D.M

50

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'Not a normal day'

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June 30, 1997

Aria Zabini

I woke up like it was any other morning, the sunlight peeking through the thick curtains of my dormitory, casting a soft glow across the room. I lay there for a moment, staring at the ceiling, the heaviness in my chest a familiar weight now. 

Same routine, same remedies. 

I sighed, dragging myself out of bed, knowing that today was far from ordinary—even if I had to pretend it was.

The floor was cold beneath my feet as I padded over to my dresser, opening the drawer with my usual mechanical motions. My uniform lay neatly folded, just like always. As I slipped into the familiar fabric, I tried to push away the gnawing dread in my stomach. 

Today was the day. The day Dumbledore would fall, and Hogwarts would be changed forever. And the worst part? No one knew. No one but me.

And Draco Malfoy.

I tied my hair back, letting a few loose curls frame my face, and brushed on a bit of mascara and lip gloss. My reflection stared back at me, perfectly normal, but inside, I felt anything but. 

My mind had been racing for weeks, ever since Draco's party, unable to rest until I came up with my own plan—a plan to keep him from doing something he could never undo.

Draco's task was clear: to kill Dumbledore. But I couldn't let him go through with it. The thought of Draco becoming a murderer under the Dark Lord's command twisted my insides. I wouldn't let it happen. I couldn't.

The common room was empty when I left the girls' dormitories, the early morning quiet heavy with the weight of what was to come. I made my way to the Great Hall, forcing myself to wear the mask of normalcy. I had done it for so long now that it came naturally. Acting like nothing was wrong had become second nature.

As soon as I stepped into the hall, I saw them: Blaise and Pansy, seated at the Slytherin table, laughing softly over their breakfast. I plastered a small smile on my face, walking over to join them, my heartbeat steady, my expression calm.

"Morning," I said casually, sliding into the seat beside Blaise.

"You're late," Pansy remarked, glancing at me with a knowing smirk. "Where were you?."

"Missed my alarm," I shrugged, grabbing a slice of toast and picking at it. I wasn't hungry, not at all, but appearances had to be kept up.

Blaise raised an eyebrow at me, clearly sensing something off. "You've been weird lately, Aria. What's going on?"

I shrugged again, avoiding his eyes, pretending to be preoccupied with buttering my toast. "Nothing, just stressed about schoolwork. You know how it is."

Pansy rolled her eyes. "Honestly, you stress too much. You're top of the class—what do you have to worry about?"

The war. The mission. Draco. My own plan. But I didn't say any of that.

"Yeah, well, it's not like it's easy," I muttered.

I could feel Blaise watching me closely, his gaze sharp, but I refused to meet it. I couldn't let him in on what was really going on. He didn't know about the looming threat of the Death Eaters, or the fact that by tonight, everything would be different.