NOVEL NEXT Chapter 2: Chapter 2
It was easily two in the morning now. The place was obviously empty, and only the faint glow of her Lumos gave any indication of life between the labyrinth of bookshelves. She rubbed her sleep-deprived eyes and tried to focus on the blurry letters and shapes, but it was difficult.
"Right," she mumbled to herself, trailing her fingertip under the sentence to steady her gaze. "'The first known wizard to create a Horcrux was Herpo the Foul, and they can only be...
Bugger...
She'd already read that sentence twice.
.
.
"You are insane," he spat harshly, stopping in his tracks. "I don't know which of your crazy potions you've knocked back, but there is no way I am going back there."
"And I suppose you have a better idea?" Snape tuned slowly to face his companion, regarding the young man impatiently.
"Have you forgotten what we did in there?" he questioned, raising his fury-trembling hand to indicate the dimly-lit school. "I'll be killed on the bloody spot if I step one foot in that place!"
"We do not have time for these arguments, Draco," the ex-professor sneered, grabbing the back of the younger wizard's collar. "I made a Vow to protect you and this is the only place you will be safe-
"Get off me!" he hissed, struggling against the grip as Snape marched towards Hogwarts. He tried to dig his heels into the ground and pry the hand away from his robes, but it was futile. "You blood traitor scum!"
Snape stalled his long strides and adjusted his grip on Draco's clothes to bring their faces close. It didn't show on his face, but Malfoy suddenly felt very wary of the dangerous look in the wizard's eyes, but he didn't flinch. He was a blood traitor. Fact.
Snape and himself had been in hiding for the last few months following the...events in Astronomy Tower. Draco wasn't stupid. He knew his failure would have consequences, but he could have never imagined the magnitude of them. The Dark Lord wanted him dead.
He hadn't spoken to either of his parents since, and he had no idea what had happened to them. He'd barely left some Shetland shack, with his only companion consisting of the greasy and eerie man currently glaring torture at him. And he had a price on his head. Both sides wanted him dead. Peachy.
And then Snape had told him that he was a spy; that he'd betrayed them all and that he was one of them. Draco had vomited the barely-digested scraps they had managed to salvage that day and spent the remainder of the evening trying to escape their Scottish hideout.
But where would he have gone?
Had it not been for the fact that Voldemort wanted him Avada'd as soon as possible, he would have disclosed that revelation for some personal gain. But he had no place with the Death Eaters any more, which left him substantially buggered; forced into following around the blood traitor who had told him he could no longer protect him.
Head-fuck.
And now he had brought him to Hogwarts.
He'd tried to ask questions about the extent of Snape's involvement with the Order, but the odd git had characteristically said the bare minimum. Draco had wondered if insanity had finally caught up to the older man; that the whole spy concept was just the hysteric ramblings of a half-minded man. He'd murdered Dumbledore after all. But then why would he be taking him to Hogwarts if he didn't have some leverage with McGonagall and the Order?
All the questions and anxiety pounded against his temple and throbbed with echoing reminders in his ears. But he'd had no answers. No promises. Nothing. Just left to simmer in a limbo that ached and wondering when everything had become so complicated.
Five months in a rickety shed on some desolate Shetland Island, with only the drones of sheep to slice the silence, had left him more than a little...tense. Of course, having the most powerful wizard on Earth hunting for your corpse didn't help.
What a shit week. Shit month. Shit year.
"I am trying to protect you, Draco," the sinister man snapped, tightening his hold on Draco's robes. "This is the only place you will be safe-
"I will not be safe here," the blond growled, curling his lip in disgust. "I am their fucking enemy-
"You're an enemy to both sides now," Snape pointed out, continuing his steps towards Hogwarts and yanking the Malfoy heir with him. "But this side is the least likely to kill you. Professor McGonagall had already agreed to this."
"Stupid cow," Draco barked, earning him a choking tug. "So I am to entrust my safety with that crazy hag?"
"You don't have a choice."
His protests stopped.
.
.
She shivered.
Autumn had crept up on the castle too quickly, and it squandered the cold at the back of her neck. Her breath left her mouth in silky mists and she bunched the fabric of her jumper in her fists to protect her fingers.
Hermione jumped out of her seat when she heard the library door swing open, followed by shuffling steps. She grabbed her wand, silently ending the Lumos charm and listening carefully to the intrusive thumps against the floorboards. She made her breaths as quiet as possible, managing to rise from her seat without making the faintest noise.
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