Harry Potter: Among Shadows and Silence

She peaked through the gaps of the bookcases, searching for a glimpse of something out of place. All the shadows mingled into one mass of almost-black, so she concentrated on the sounds. Whoever it was still lingered by the door, but was slowly making their way further into the library. Her hand tightened around her wand.

"Miss Granger?" a familiar voice called, and she relaxed her shoulders. "Are you in here?"

"Lumos," the witch sighed, her feet following the friendly tone. "I'm here, Professor Slughorn."

"Oh, there you are," the jittery man smiled when she came into view. "You know, we've looking everywhere for you. You really shouldn't be out this late, even if you are Head Girl."

"Is everything okay?" she questioned, ignoring his comment.

"Professor McGonagall would like to speak with you," he stated simply, leading her away from the library. "She's in her office."

"Is something wrong?" her brows knitted together wit concern. Why would McGonagall need her at two in the morning?

"I'm not sure what's going on, Miss Granger," he admitted with a harmless shrug. "I'm sure everything's fine, or we would have been informed."

"I suppose so," she nodded absently, tucking her hands in her pockets. "It just seems a little odd."

"In times like these, Miss Granger," he breathed, and she could hear how tired the man was. They were all so tired. "I'm surprised you can still find anything odd."

"Fair point."

"I will walk you to the office," he told her, his voice croaking with fatigue. "Would you like me to wait outside for you to make sure you get back to your room safely?"

"That's not necessary," she dismissed with a little shake of her head. "My room is only a small walk from McGonagall's office. Plus, you look very tired, Sir."

"I was woken rather suddenly," he confessed, smothering a yawn into his sleeve. "But then, you were reading in the library. Are you sleeping okay, Miss Granger?"

"Well enough," she lied.

"Might I recommend some Dreamless Sleep Potion?" he suggested, giving her a meaningful look. "I could brew you some for tomorrow?"

"No, thank you," she offered him a weak smile. "I have some Muggle sleeping pills I can take if I really need to, but I'm fine, Professor. Really."

"If you say so, Miss Granger," he relented, stopping as they reached the door to the passageway that would take her to McGonagall's office. "I shall leave you here then."

"Thank you, Professor Slughorn," she nodded politely, waiting until the wizard had disappeared down the corridor before she mumbled the password. "Tabby cat."

.

.

Draco was sat in an oversized chair, grinding his teeth and chewing his tongue. The two professors were bickering in front of him, and it had taken every bit of self-control not scream at the pair. If McGonagall wasn't clutching her wand defensively, he would have probably hexed them by now, or at least cast a few silencing charms to block out there scratching tones.

"I agreed to meet you, Severus," the witch spoke harshly. "I made no such promise that I would actually let him stay here."

"There is nowhere else," Snape stated calmly, turning his eyes to Draco for a moment. "If the Dark Lord finds him, then he will kill him, Minerva."

"And you would have me put the rest of the students in jeopardy?" she snapped, her Scottish accent thick and reminding Draco of his vile stay in the North. Always hiding...

"You are trying to protect the students," the sullen wizard spoke. "He needs protection more than anyone-

"That boy is the reason this place was attacked!" she shouted, pointing an accusing finger at him. "That boy-

"Is a child," Snape interrupted, ignoring the offended grunt from the otherwise silent teenager. "He was mislead, Minerva."

Draco's eyes shot up at those words, and he analysed the man he had once trusted with wary scepticism. It felt odd and degrading to be defended by someone he now despised.

"He knew what he was doing," the headmistress said quietly, her conservative tone back into place. "And if he hadn't been so foolish, things would be very different-

"The Dark Lord would still be a threat," he reasoned carefully. "You know that Albus-

"Don't you dare try to bribe me with his memory!" she warned, her voice rising a decibel that harassed her own ears. "Don't you dare, Severus-

"You know I'm right," he said with a subtle force. "You know full well how determined he was to ensure Draco didn't follow...that path."

The Malfoy heir felt his jaw slacken. The inevitable questions flooded his brain too quickly, and he hissed the air through his teeth. The old oaf had taken an interest in him? Had wanted to keep him away from the dark path? And Snape knew this? Just more secrets; more splinters into his brain.

"What the hell-

"I warned you to keep your mouth shut," Snape drawled purposefully, not even bothering to glance at him. "Minerva, you know Albus would have let him stay-

"Well," she sighed, massaging her forehead with her age-creased hand. "Albus' benevolence could have been considered his downfall, alongside his desire to see the good in everyone."

Snape made a small sound of agreement. "Be that as it may," he mumbled quietly. "I'm running out of time. He needs a place away from the Dark Lord."

.

.

.

📖For everyone who wants to read it in full📖

👇🏼It will be available on my Ko-Fi👇🏼

‼️https://ko-fi.com/skyarc‼️

✅Subscribe now if you want to get all the PDFs available on my page.✅