Before Pansy

Chapter Four: Being a prefect

I lay in my three poster bed in my dormitory in the Slytherin dungeons. The cool bed sheets fail to warm me like they have done before. It is not that I was cold physically, but from the inside I was cold, so many thoughts zip around in mind, therefore allowing sleep to come not. So instead, I lay facing the wall, so as Crabbe and Goyle, if they are awake, may not see my face. For them to not know that I am awake. I just want to be left alone with my own thoughts at this moment, I do not want to have to be the Draco Malfoy. I just want to attempt to fall succumb to sleep, yet it still will not come, Hermione's words of agreement circle my memories as do the ones of my own Mother, telling me to not return home for the Christmas break. But to only return for the Summer due to reasons that she failed to give an explanation for. I pull the covers slightly nearer to my face and hug them close to my chest. I cross my fingers together, the warmth from the sheets warms my cold hands. As this does so, a singular saying that my Mother used to say to me when I was just a boy reminds me of how much things have changed, and how much they have yet to change. "Those with the coldest hands, possess the warmest of hearts, even if they do not show it. Cold hands, warm heart." I let her words soothe the prickly others and at last sleep allows me to enter its open arms.

The next morning, I felt tired and to say the least like I had been hit in the stomach with a rock. The words of my Mother had secured my future. It was so real; it would be so real. I was now destined to join my Mother, Father, Aunt, to follow in their footsteps, as a death eater. Now that it has been confirmed, many doubts have arisen, I know that I must see through with it, considering that it has not been agreed, alas, I am afraid, yet I dare not allow anyone to know that. Not even if Snape uses occulemency upon thy brain, will he know that I am afraid. Draco Malfoy is never afraid, never.

Many months passed, and Hermione and I barely spoke, all I was met with, was the cold shoulder and nothing too generous as a look. It was quite rightly deserved but at the same time, it infuriates me that she would not give me a chance to explain myself. Hermione Granger, the brightest witch of our age, is significantly dumb towards my life at the present. She knows not what has been happening in the recent comings and goings, so she fails to recognises these gestures, and therefore ends up hurting herself and slightly hurting me, by spitting harmful words out of her mouth, as if they are some sort of poison to her own golden thoughts, as if it were to turn them black. Though this was about to change or so I intended it to.

As we are in our fifth year, here at Hogwarts, the opportunity to become a prefect was decided upon the day that we re-joined to begin the year. And so, I, myself and Pansy Parkinson were made the prefects of Slytherin house. Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley were made prefects for Gryffindor house. Padma Patil and Anthony Goldstein were made prefects for Ravenclaw house. And finally, Cedric Diggory and Hannah Abbott were made prefects for Hufflepuff house. The eight of us listed above, are the prefect coordinators if you like. We are the top prefects. In charge of our remaining two, or three prefects, depending on which house we are referring too. Anyway, so today, instead of having all of the prefects present at this particular meeting, it was to only to be the prefect coordinators. So I head towards the astronomy tower, where we were to be meeting, slightly to ahead of myself. Though you did not hear that from me!

"Draco, wait for me!" That familiar flirtatious voice escapes the mouth of only one.

"Yes Pansy?"

"We have a meeting. Wait for me."

"Yes we do." I carried on walking despite her calls.

"Draco Malfoy! I will tell Snape!"

"And I will tell my father!"

"Oh Draco, will you? And what is he going to do to me?"

"More damage than you know!" And with that, I proceeded to skip a step at a time up the spiral staircase. The door to the astronomy tower sings slightly open upon its hinges. It was rather strange at first to see the door slightly open, when it is usually not even the slightest crack wide. I cautiously open the door, willing to get out of Pansy's earshot and sights for the time being at least, well until she reaches the top of the stairwell that is. I crash through the door, and am met with the dark, dim lighting of the astronomy tower. Along with the stunned faces of Hermione, Ron, Cedric, Hannah, Padma and Anthony, and if this was bad enough, as Pansy barges through the door behind me, Professor McGonagall just stares whilst Hermione just rolls her eyes and turns to face the opposite direction along with the others. "So glad you could join us. Draco. Pansy."

"Sorry we were late Ma'am; it was Draco's fault. Being the heir of Slytherin and all, you should take blame for your fellow house members." Pansy smirks and nudges my elbow hard. I stare at her, with a look of pure disgust. How dare she turn me in? How dare she insult my title, and let it lose to the world? Of course it was Pansy and Pansy will do anything to get herself out of trouble, even if it means turning in her own family. Trust me, I have seen her do it before, with her younger sister, to my parents. Thankfully it was my parents, and no other death eater. So they went lightly upon her and failed to admit the truth to the Dark Lord in order not to anger him so.

"Ma'am, it was not-"

"Silence Malfoy. Now, everyone please be seated." She turns her back upon the rest of us and walks towards the front of the circular room and inclined for us to take a seat. So of course we all did. "So, you must be wondering why none of your fellow team is here, am I not mistaken?" Words need not to be said, just the simple nodding motion of heads. "You shall each be working with one of your rival houses. The challenge will be rewarded with the chance to give your house the opportunity to win the house cup with a phenomenal amount of house points. You will have to learn to work as a team with your rival, in order to do this, you must overcome a series of tests. These shall begin on Sunday of next week. The team that wins shall win the godly prise of points. Though do not be mistaken, each team shall receive house points for their participation in these challenges, no one will properly loose, though there will inevitably be a winner. This challenge will remain secret to anyone outside of this circle. Do you understand? Good. Okay, so, here are your partners, once called, May you please go and sit by one another; Ronald Weasley and Padma Patil. Cedric Diggory and Pansy Parkinson. Anthony Goldstein and Hannah Abbott. And finally, Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy." At the simple sound of my name she flinches and yet she gets up and sits next me, just as requested, though I fear that our challenges will be the hardest, just because of our past and the way in which that we 'bond' as it were. This is going to be a hard few weeks if I am not fooled. I smirk and move closer to her, yet she just puts up an invisible barrier which prevents me from so much as even hacking into her thoughts with a single look. Instead I am repelled without a second thought. To be honest with you, I am not particularly surprised, yet it hurts a little to know that we will have to overcome these barriers once again, and this means that I will have to try so hard to be greeted with her acceptance and forgiveness of all that I have wronged her for. "Students, dismissed." Clearly I had missed all of the important parts of what the Professor was saying, yet it did not occur to me that anything else had to have been said, so I decide to ask Hermione later on in potions class. I do not always have the best ideas.