NOVEL NEXT Chapter 4: Chapter 4
The old witch tensed her lips and moved her wise stare to study the youngest inhabitant of the room. Draco tried to hold the exchange but found himself glaring down at his lap, his lids heavy with fatigue. He'd been unable to manage a decent night's sleep since the night of June 1st, four days before his seventeenth birthday. Call it the cold that had crept in through the cracks of their hideout, or the painful hunger pangs that he'd suffered for five months, or perhaps even the flimsy remains of his conscience.
Sleep was a forgotten luxury, as was a decent meal. And a bed. And a shower. And warmth...
"Very well," McGonagall murmured finally, holding her head a little higher as she spoke. "He may stay. But I have my terms, Mr Malfoy, and if any of them are broken, you will be on your own."
Draco slowly raised his eyes to regard the woman with an agitated look. Who was she to lay down a list of rules? Like she was doing him a favour. He didn't want to be here. He didn't need her bloody help. She could stick it up her-
"Your wand, Mr Malfoy," she demanded calmly, stretching out her hand.
He snorted. "Sod off," he muttered coldly, but he felt something at his side move, and watched with furious eyes as his wand left his pocket and landed in her palm.
"You will not be permitted to attend classes with the rest of the students," she told him crisply. "I would think the reasons would be pretty obvious for that. You are to remain unseen and I'm sure you wouldn't be welcomed back by the other students anyway."
He rolled his eyes. He hated people who found it necessary to state the obvious.
"You will not leave the room you are given," she continued harshly, her lips pursed with stress. "If you step one foot out of Hogwarts without my permission then you will not be allowed back in. Ever."
Draco rubbed his chin and looked at Snape, who was watching him with that familiar impatient stare. He wanted to tell them both to fuck off; to mind their own business, but he knew this offer wasn't optional. He reminded himself again that he had nowhere to go. So that was it. Another place he wasn't allowed to leave. Another sanity-draining prison. Merlin, help him to save his mind.
"He will stay here?" Snape questioned, breaking the silence. "With you?"
"I have far too much on my plate to play chaperone, Severus," the witch explained in a clipped tone. "I have someone else in mind to keep an eye on him."
Snape frowned. "Slughorn?" he guessed. "One of the professors?"
"You know first-hand that they wouldn't have time for that," she replied with an arched eyebrow. "Considering the circumstances, Severus, there are only a handful of people I trust fully, and if you want Mr Malfoy's whereabouts to remain secret, then he will stay with Miss Granger."
Draco's eyes doubled in size and mouth went dry. "The fucking Mudblood-
"You will do well to mind your language, Mr Malfoy," she threatened with her clipped tone. "I think I've made it quite clear that your stay here is conditional-
"You think shoving me in a room with her will be safe?" he questioned with a disbelieving face. "If there is anyone other than the Dark Lord who would want me killed, it's the Mudblood-
"You will stop using that word," the witch reiterated with a scolding finger. "I am certain that Miss Granger is capable of handling this...situation maturely."
Draco released a humourless bark of laughter and shook his head. "You're off your bloody rocker."
"Apparently so," she agreed. "But if I was you, I wouldn't encourage me to reconsider this arrangement."
He narrowed his glare and tuned to Snape with an expression of sheer disgust. "This is your idea of protection?" he spat though his bared teeth. "Handing me over to these morons-
"Enough," he hushed him quietly, still eyeing McGonagall with a curious expression. "Are you certain Miss Granger is the wisest option, Minerva?"
"She's the only option," she stated resolutely. "She is the only student I completely trust."
"But one of the professors would surely be more appropriate."
"The professors have enough trouble keeping their eyes on the other students," the headmistress said with an edge of impatience. "Miss Granger is perfectly capable and she just so happens to have a spare room in her quarters-
"This is a joke," Draco growled, wrinkling his nose with disdain. "I refuse to stay with that-
"I won't tell you to shut up again," Snape sneered, take a long stride to smack the back of of his head.
"You will do as you are told, Mr Malfoy," the witch warned stiffly. "You will only have one offer of help from us and then you're on your own."
He felt the urge to challenge the witch rise in his throat, tickling his tonsils, but he was so exhausted. Hogwarts was so much warmer than the shed, and the warmth was like a sedative. The plush chair was absorbing him, no matter how hard he tried to ignore it. The smell of food lingered in the air too, and it was doing betraying things to his empty stomach.
"Shall I take that your silence means you accept our offer?"
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