Draco Malfoy and the Alcoholic's Wish

The incident with the carpet

A.N: this chapter is devoted to Dr Jekyll and his problematic friend Mr Hyde, and the flop of my English exams.

Had they removed part of my brain during the operation? Why, then, was I suddenly emotional, after being unhanded by Pomfrey after breakfast I didn't want to immediately hide, but walked through the corridors, searching for Potter amongst the sea of living teenagers. Where had he come from? And why had he chosen me, out of everyone, to talk to in the middle of the night?

I was in such a daydream that when McGonagall appeared out of nowhere and called me into her office, it didn't really register that I was in there for a good minute.

"Draco, please sit down" she greeted, gesturing towards the chair that was so straight backed I could already feel my spine protesting. Still, I complied, and even had the nerve to look her in the eye while she said what she wanted to say.

"I understand that since the war, you haven't been the happiest" she began, and I felt my new found haze start to ebb away, and the world became a little more sharp when I heard the trigger warnings. Great. She wanted to talk about my feelings. "And that nothing we've said or done has really helped."

"Not really, Miss" I replied. I hated it, I hated what she was doing- the same, heavy cloud of depression was descending, and threatening to pour. I should have saved some of that brandy.

"Madame Pomfrey and I have been talking," I flinched accordingly- the antics of me and my Deatheater pals was not a topic I wanted to bring up. "And we have decided that you should go on another course of antidepressants, stronger ones this time, as I don't think the others even took the edge off." She sighed, and picked up a collection of papers, her eyebrows rising higher into her hairline as she scanned them. "You're not making progress- you've gone backward in a lot of your subjects even, in particular Potions. It looks like you're going to be the first ever student to stay here for nine years. Your weight, even- if you don't mind me saying-"

"I do" I snapped.

"-has plummeted in the space of six short months. You were so tired that you fall asleep in all your classes-"

"That's just because I find them so unbearably dull" I lied. This woman already knew just about everything about me- or had guessed- and I wanted to keep some details secret from her.

"So you admit that you do sleep somewhat outside of lessons?" she asked sarcastically.

"Yes" I breathed, leaning forwards so she could catch every word. "With your mum." As predicted, being the notorious head teacher she was, she did not rise to my bait, simply curling her lip in distaste and choosing not to comment. I smiled, drawing back my chair and preparing to stalk out, thinking I'd won.

"Thank you for your smart alecs" she called stiffly, as I wrestled with the door knob, looking like a fool. She'd managed to lock it without even moving her hand, and I was trapped. "It further cements the suspicions I already had."

I threw a sour glare at her, hating that she could beat me at my own games. "Either way, I will be discussing with Professor Snape about changing your medication in due course- it shouldn't be me telling you this, as your head of house, let alone your guardian, he should be here, but he's busy marking the fith years' course work."

"There's no need to talk to Professor Snape." I said smoothly, moving away from the door to look at her. "I'll come of age during the next summer. We've agreed that I'm no longer his problem. He's not my guardian" I added in short. "We're in no way related, there are no legal bindings and not even a mutual interest in each other. There's no point in continuing to live in each other's company."

"There is every reason!" she retorted angrily. "You are still a minor- and when Snape was offered the job of looking after you, he accepted it, knowing full well the complications. He shouldn't have given up quite so easily."