Transfixed: A Draco Malfoy Fanfiction

Chapter 38

I stood outside for a moment before going back inside the house, enjoying the freedom of not being watched or listened to. I held out my hands to feel the small rain droplets, smiling as the birds sang their calls. I could leave, I thought. I could go home, tell the Order I'd made a mistake. That I wasn't strong enough after all. I fantasized about it; I imagined hugging Hermione tight and telling her everything, sleeping in my own bed again, being with my mother and sister. It all sounded like a dream.

Then, I looked back at the manor, giant and hollow. I pictured Draco inside, curious as to what was taking me so long. I imagined Snape, working at the Ministry, counting on me to succeed so I could help the Order. And I imagined Voldemort, testing me as if I were an experiment, seeing if I would break. If I gave up now, it would only bring him and the Death Eaters satisfaction. It would prove their suspicions that I was weak and frightened. And though I was frightened, I was not weak. I took one final deep breath in the fresh morning air, and went back inside.

Draco stood in the kitchen when I returned. "So, should we get going?" I asked.

"I guess."

I followed him back up to his room, then stopped at his door. I felt weird all of a sudden about going into his bedroom, like we were friends hanging out together. I looked at him, and he seemed just as uncomfortable as I did.

"Well, come on in," he mumbled as he went inside. I didn't know what I was expecting his room to be like, if I thought it would be dark and dusty like the rest of the house. But it just looked like a regular bedroom. The walls were a navy blue, and he had a plain bed on the right side with a silver and green quilt. Straight ahead was a window with a desk underneath it, and opposite that, a dresser and rather large bookcase. On the lefthand wall was his closet, the door ajar, his clothes hanging in a disorganized mess. A Slytherin rug was sprawled across the floor, and I almost chuckled at how ordinary the room was. It could have belonged to any other Slytherin boy.

Draco walked over to the bookcase, and started scanning the shelves. "Come on in, nothing's going to jump out at you," he said while flipping through the books. I realized I was still standing in the doorway, so I shuffled inside and shut the door.

"Found it," he said as he pulled the compact green book from the lowest shelf. I went over and knelt down next to him.

"Let's go here," I said, pointing to the chapter called An A-Z of Fantastic Beasts.

"You go ahead," he replied, holding out the book. I took it and flipped through the pages to find the chapter I wanted.

"Alright, let's see here. Acromantula, good idea but I'm pretty sure they'll eat us. Ashwinder, no. Augurey no. Basilisk, dead..." I continued looking through the names of beasts, then stopped as my eyes fixated on one: Centaurs.

"What about centaurs?" I asked.

"They don't like wizards much," Draco said. "They don't trust us."

"But they have a stake in this war," I retorted. "Listen, it says: 'Wizarding authorities in each of the countries where centaurs are found have allocated areas where the centaurs will not be troubled by Muggles.'"

"So?"

"So, we could promise them that if the Death Eaters won the war, we would expand their territories and give them more freedom. If they don't trust us, then they probably resent depending on wizards to dictate where they can and can't live."

"That's true..."

"And listen to this: 'They are reputed to be well versed in magical healing, archery and astronomy.' Imagine how useful healing and archery would be!"