Spilt Milk

Fathers of Sin: fragment no. 2, spilt milk and the teacher’s pet

"Hey Potter! How many times did you have to blow Dumbledore to get that badge?" Draco called loudly down the hall.

Harry Potter, his longtime rival and enemy, was walking towards him, sandwiched by his constant companions, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Draco watched them approach as he stood slumped against the wall outside the Transfiguration classroom, waiting for McGonagall to come and let him in.

Harry self-consciously rubbed the shiny Head Boy badge pinned to the left breast of his robes and glared at the smirking boy before him.

"Same number of times you had to blow Snape to get that A+ in Potions," he ground out.

Ron sniggered and Hermione gave them all disapproving looks, which Draco suspected made her look an exact replica of Professor McGonagall. A constipated McGonagall even.

"Tsk tsk. That many times huh? No wonder the Headmaster lets you get away with anything and everything."

"Shut up Malfoy! You do realize that you just admitted to performing oral sex on Snape," said Ron with a self-satisfied grin.

"Well, you realize our good friend Harry here has just admitted to sucking Dumbledore’s dick. Personally I think that would be the worse of the two. And at least I didn’t enjoy it."

"Shut up…Harry did no such thing!" cried Ron. Draco smirked. The redhead always was one to fall for cheap bait.

"Aw…is poor Ronniekins feeling jealous. Is his little boyfriend going around behind his back? Or maybe you’re the one who does all the sucking, eh…whore yourself to get your little friends out of trouble?"

Ron spluttered. "I…Harry and I aren’t…I’m not…you bastard. I’ll kill you, you fucking bastard!"

He lunged at Draco.

"Mr. Weasley! Expelliarmus!"

Ron stopped in mid punch as the spell hit him and sent him flying off of the other boy, through the air. He landed a few feet away and rubbed his bright red head dejectedly.

The students looked up to find Professor McGonagall making her way quickly down the hall towards them. Leveling a stern glare at all of them, she put her wand back in her pocket and motioned to where Draco lay on the floor.

"Potter, help him up."

Harry scowled at the boy as he grasped on to Draco’s arm and roughly pulled him up off the ground.

"Mr. Malfoy are you all right?" The voice was even and flat, neither hiding nor portraying any concern. It was asked out of obligation in that same even tone she used with all her students. Draco scowled. He didn’t like McGonagall much. The Professor took Draco’s silence as an affirmative and turned to Ron.

"How about you Mr. Weasley? Are you hurt?"

"No Professor. I’m fine," mumbled the redhead.

"I don’t know what went on here, but fighting is against the rules. I will expect both Mr. Malfoy and yourself to be in my office tonight at seven to serve detention."

"I can’t."

The professor leveled a stern look in Draco’s direction. "Mr. Malfoy, this is not open to discussion."

"I wasn’t even the one fighting. Weasley attacked me! This is ludicrous. I’ve better things to do than to serve detentions I don’t deserve."

"Mr. Malfoy! I am a professor. Therefore I have the authority here and I will decide what you do and do not deserve. You will be in my office at seven. Is that clear?"

"No." Draco clenched his fists and raised his chin in defiance as the others looked on with hanging jaws, McGonagall herself amongst them.

"What?" Her voice came as a disbelieving hiss as she tried to determine if she had actually heard what she thought she had.

"I’m not coming to your office. I have a prior obligation. I’m not going to serve this detention."

"Mr. Malfoy, if you are not in my office at seven, I’ll—."

"You’ll what? You can’t do anything to me. I know the school rules. Only my Head of House can do anything significant. And who do you think Professor Snape will agree with, his star pupil, or the old hag who he has the misfortune of working with? There is nothing you can do." He crossed his arms over his chest and smirked.

Hermione gasped as Harry and Ron looked on in horror. McGonagall herself appeared dumbstruck.

"You…you…I can go to the Headmaster. That’s what I can do! You will be suspended, expelled! You cannot treat your elders in this manner and expect no consequences. The Headmaster will—."

"I think you forget who my father is. The Headmaster will do nothing if he doesn’t want to find himself in trouble with the school governmental board. Kicking academically excelling students out of school will not be looked upon favorably by the governorship."

"Why you…you are a mannerless little scoundrel Draco Malfoy. Troublemakers like you should not be allowed in the sacred walls of such a fine institution."

"Yes, well I’ll be sure to tell my father you said that," he drawled. He silently reveled in the feeling of power that came over him as McGonagall abandoned her composure and normally cool demeanor to glare at him, hostility dripping venom from her contorted visage. Her thin lips had all but disappeared into the angry lines of her face. He’d never seen her so put out.

"Your father will not be able to bail you out all of the time Malfoy. And when the Dark Lord is defeated, scum like him will get what they deserve. And it will be much worse than anything your father could ever do to me!"

Draco glared at his teacher. His lip curled as he bared his teeth, very reminiscent of a very young, very blond Severus Snape.

"My father is not scum. It’s mudblood-loving filth like you who disparage people’s names and turn their own kind against them that are the scum. The Dark Lord is more powerful than your pitiful little mind could ever image. And when he is in power, it is people like you and your precious little dream team who will know the consequences."

The quiet hiss of his voice faded as he glared at his teacher waiting for a reaction.

McGonagall shook the shock from her features as she quickly regained her stern exterior. The detestable words that spilled from Draco’s mouth, nearly a confession, surprised her little. "I will be speaking to your Head of House about this…be assured."

"I will count on it."

Draco turned his glare from McGonagall to the classroom door as the Professor unlocked it and hurried through.

Draco followed her triumphantly and took a seat before the professor’s desk, front and center. The rest of the students trickled in slowly as they arrived for class. Harry Potter and his friends had found a place near the back of the room where they were huddled together whispering. Undoubtedly they were discussing Draco and his actions. McGonagall refused to look at him as she sat at her desk preparing her notes, waiting for the room to fill up. Once everyone had arrived the Professor took role and began her lecture.

They were in their last year of Transfiguration so had been studying the more difficult aspects of the subject such as human/animal transfiguration, human/magical creature transfiguration, human/human changes, as well as partial and discriminate transmutation. Draco found them all incredibly boring. He did fine at it, though he was never a genius, and even if he had been he suspected McGonagall would not have told him so. But Snape was of the opinion that he had talent. And he was inclined to believe Snape. Today they were to practice human/animal changing.

"—And that is why we must use a Confundus Charm when changing an animal to a human. You will now split into pairs and practice your human to animal changes. Today’s animal will be your choice of any small mammal."

The classroom bustled as the students scrambled to find a partner. Draco remained in his seat and looked around him. Everyone had paired off and was already starting to warm up, changing their parchments and quills into teacups and porcupines.

"Professor…"

"What is it Mr. Malfoy?" she said tersely.

"I don’t have a partner."

"Well you will have to join one of the other groups then."

"Can’t I just practice this on my own? I already have this transformation committed to memory anyhow."

"No Mr. Malfoy. You may not. If you don’t wish to participate then you will not pass the assignment. You are already wasting a great deal of time."

"Fine." He graced her with a sneer, which she pointedly ignored, returning to the papers on her desk.

He got up and surveyed the room. Each group was equally unappealing as they were all Gryffindors.

Damn me for choosing this time slot.

He didn’t know anyone particularly well except for Potter and his group. He hated them, but at least he knew them. He walked over to Harry and Ron as they were chatting and working on changing their quills to Snitches and back again. He stood before their desk and waited for them to notice. Harry finally looked up and scowled as Draco cleared his throat.

"What do you want Malfoy?"

"McGonagall says I need to be in a group," he explained casually.

"So somehow you thought that we would let you join ours?"

"You don’t really have a choice do you?"

Harry and Ron shared a glance and looked up at him glaring. "We could say no. As a matter of fact we are saying no. Bugger off Malfoy."

"I need to be in a group."

"Yes you said that already. Go find someone else," said Harry in exasperation.

"I don’t know anyone else."

"Malfoy, you don’t know us either."

"Well I know you better. You can’t refuse to work with me."

"Why not? If you can refuse to serve a detention why can’t we refuse to work with you?"

"Because McGonagall said."

"Oh…is the poor little drackey-wacky going to tattle on us to the teacher?" cooed Ron crossing his long arms over his chest in challenge.

"Shut up. Look I’m not going to cause trouble. Just let me work with you."

"Why are you even here in the first place Malfoy. Today is Tuesday. Forget that Slytherins have this class on Mondays?" asked Harry with rancor.

"I missed my class so I have to make it up. Are you going to let me work with you or not? We’re wasting time."

"Fine."

"Harry!"

"It’s all right Ron, it’s only one class. Besides, we don’t need to sink down to his level," he sneered at the blond boy as if he’d been looking at one of Hagrid’s flobberworms.

Draco scowled but knew better than to say anything. He pulled up a chair and set it down backwards across from the two Gryffindor boys. Straddling it, he set his elbows on the table and waited for his partners to tell him what they were doing.

"Ok. We already warmed up, so we’re going to start practicing the transformations. You can warm up or watch or whatever. I don’t care," said Harry quickly.

Draco nodded and took out his wand.

"How about I go first? I don’t need to warm up. Who shall I transfigure?"

Ron and Harry looked at each other uncertainly.

"I’ll do it," said Harry.

"Don’t you try anything Malfoy. I’ll still be here you know," said Ron authoritatively.

"Oh in that case Potter, you must feel so safe," said Draco rolling his eyes.

"Just hurry up and do it alright," snapped Harry.

"Okay, okay…hmmm…I think…yes that’s perfect."

"Malfoy what are you thinking? What are you going to change me into?"

"You’ll see…"

He waved his wand at Harry staring at him intensely with his grey eyes.

Ron gasped as Draco sat back casually, admiring his work.

"Change him back, change him back!"

"Calm down Weasley. It’s quite an improvement, pity it’s temporary."

Harry’s brow furrowed. "Wait a second nothing happened. What are you two on about? I’m still me."

Harry felt odd as the words came from his mouth, so completely unlike his own. The voice was smoother, yet somehow harsher than his normally was.

"Harry he changed you into—."

"The most startlingly beautiful creature I’ve ever seen," said Draco with a dramatic wave of his hand.

Harry stared evenly at the blond.

"You turned me into yourself didn’t you Malfoy?"

Draco smirked.

A gasp sounded from the front of the room.

"Draco Malfoy! What have you done?"

Draco tried to look innocent as the professor stomped up from the front of the classroom.

"How can you be sure it was me. How do you know Potter didn’t do it on his own or maybe Weasley? But don’t be mad at them Professor, it’s perfectly understandable to want to be such a charming, intelligent fellow as Draco Malfoy. I don’t blame them for being envious."

"Enough of your lip Mr. Malfoy. What were you thinking? We aren’t even doing human to human transformations yet. You could have hurt him!"

Draco rolled his eyes. "Oh yes, silly me. I forgot, the world would come to an end without it’s precious Golden Boy. Well I didn’t hurt him now did I? No I didn’t. I performed the spell perfectly as a matter of fact."

"Mr. Malfoy I have had just about enough of your attitude. How well you performed the spell is not at issue here. You’re lack of respect for my rules is what is at issue. Now change him back now."

"I don’t know how."

"What? You knew how to change him one way. Now change him back."

"I never got that far in my lessons," said Draco with a smirk.

The professor pursed her lips. "You think this is funny do you Mr. Malfoy? This is not a humorous situation, and I’ll not have you make a mockery of my authority."

"Professor McGonagall, couldn’t you just change Harry back?" asked Ron meekly.

"Yes, please," said Harry in a languid drawl, much to his horror.

She turned to Harry as if seeing him for the first time. "Oh, yes. Of course."

Harry changed before their eyes, blond hair melding into black, grey eyes to green as McGonagall waved her wand and performed the counter spell. As the spell was undone and Harry slumped into his chair with relief, McGonagall turned her attention back to Draco.

"Mr. Malfoy. Fifty points off Slytherin. You fail the assignment."

Draco blanched. "What?! You can’t fail me! That spell was more advanced than anything we’ve done here. I should be getting extra credit!"

"Mr. Malfoy, the assignment was to perform a human to animal transfiguration and back again. You failed to complete the assignment. I have no choice but to give you a zero."

Draco panicked. He needed this grade…"But I can do it! You can’t fail me. I’ll even show you," he screeched in agitation.

With little effort and even less thought he waved his wand at the professor as she stood with an animated look of surprise on her face. She disappeared instantly, leaving in her place a very confused looking sooty coloured rabbit.

"Oh! What have you done?!" Hermione yelled from her seat.

She jumped up and ran to the front of the room. She gasped as the rabbit hopped under the professor’s table and sat cleaning its paws.

Hermione looked up in shock. "You attacked a teacher."

The disbelief in her voice was evident. Draco gasped. He had. He had attacked a teacher. He could get expelled. His father wouldn’t be able to do anything about this.

"I—I didn’t. I was showing her I could do it. It was an accident!"

He turned and looked to the door. At the first step towards it, he found himself feeling strange. And shorter.

Hermione lowered her wand as the entire class stared in bewilderment at the little white ferret sitting on the floor.

She turned her wand to the professor and muttered the counter-spell. McGonagall reappeared as herself under the table and cursed as she hit her head, drawing more than a few surprised looks. She crawled out from her refuge and stood dusting off her black robes.

"Where is he?"

"Right there Professor." Hermione pointed to the ferret shivering on the cold stone.

She saw a slight quirk of the professor’s mouth as McGonagall stared down at the frightened little creature.

"Nicely done Hermione, A+."

"T-thank you Professor."

"I think class will be dismissed for today. I will take him to Snape. You are all free to go. Two rolls of parchment on the dangers of human to human transfiguration by Thursday."

The class quickly filed out. McGonagall picked up the ferret that was Draco and carried him out of the room, locking the door behind her.

* * * * *

Draco sat dejectedly in the large chair before the Headmaster’s desk. It had been almost half an hour since McGonagall had changed him back from his ferret form after bringing him to the Headmaster’s office.

Snape had been called as well and was now pacing back and forth besides his chair. Dumbledore had yet to arrive, and Draco was getting impatient. However much he dreaded what the Headmaster might do to him, he wanted to get it over with so he could start packing his things.

Snape kept glancing at him in the midst of his pacing which was rather unnerving and unhelpful as well. McGonagall for her part was sitting patiently paying little attention to the other Professor or his Slytherin charge. A door in the far corner of the office popped open and Dumbledore strode to his desk. He smiled at the three, lingering a moment on Draco. The boy swallowed hard.

"Well Mr. Malfoy. I hear you have been getting yourself into a bit of trouble."

"Headmaster, I—."

"Please Severus, let the boy speak for himself." He motioned Snape to his seat with a flick of his hand and turned once again to Draco. He watched him expectantly. "Mr. Malfoy, why did you see fit to use magic on a professor without their prior knowledge or consent?"

"I didn’t mean to—."

"Oh yes, your wand went waving about of its own volition didn’t it Mr. Malfoy?" said McGonagall rising from her seat.

"Minerva…" warned the Headmaster. The Professor sat down dejectedly.

"Mr. Malfoy, please, explain how this happened if you didn’t mean for it to."

Draco shifted nervously in his chair. "She was going to give me a fail, for something I know how to do. I was just trying to show her. I didn’t realize what I was doing. I—I really didn’t mean any harm."

"I have to tell you Mr. Malfoy, that you have committed a very serious offence. This could warrant your expulsion."

Draco drew in a deep breath.

"But I realize that at times we do not think, and I feel that you regret your actions. I have never been one to deny a person a second chance when he’s deserved it. And I do not believe in throwing away seven years of learning because of one mistake as major as it may be."

"Sir?"

"I will not expel you. You will, however, serve detention for three months assisting Professor McGonagall, and your house will be docked one hundred points. I have been asked to remove you from your Quidditch team, but I feel that would be unfairly punishing your house for actions you committed solely on your own. You will, however, be banned from Hogsmeade for the rest of the year."

McGonagall frowned and pulled at the cuff of her sleeve distractedly. "Professor Dumbledore…it’s bad enough that you will not suspend him or at the very least remove him from Quidditch, but…but must you put this responsibility in my hands? I have no need for the extra workload, and I have no need of an assistant. He would have nothing to do. Perhaps Filch would do better to—."

"Nothing to do? Let’s see…you could teach him the animagus transformation. He does seem to have quite a talent for human to animal changes doesn’t he?" He winked at her wryly. McGonagall shot the Headmaster a severe look but took her seat again, grumbling.

"It’s settled then. Mr. Malfoy, you will spend your evenings with Professor McGonagall to assist her if she requires it and to learn the animagus transformation as extra credit. It can make up the grade for your fail. You will report to her starting this evening. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. You may leave to lunch now if you’d like. I do believe they are serving a spectacular meat and cheese lasagna. Quite delicious."

Draco nodded, "Thank you sir." He turned and left the room.

Professor McGonagall turned to the Headmaster as soon as the door closed behind her young Slytherin pupil.

"Albus, I really do not understand your reasoning. This is more of a punishment for me than it is for him. And the animagus transformation? He’s going to be a Death Eater! Giving him an extra advantage will not help us any. We might as well hold an open clinic for all the Slytherins."

Snape scoffed. "Oh, please Minerva. Just because they’re Slytherins does not mean they are all future Death Eaters. That’s quite like saying all the Gryffindors will go on to be blundering brainless dunderheads all their lives."

McGonagall glared at him and opened her mouth to retort but was interrupted as Dumbledore took over the conversation once again.

"Now, now you two. Minerva, I assigned him detention with you because he needs to make up for what he has done. I want him to do something constructive rather than just scrubbing floors. Something that will help him and help us."

McGonagall raised a skeptical eyebrow. "How will it help us. Who is going to save us when he uses these skills we teach him against us?"

"Who saves us won’t be an issue if we save him first."

"And you think that is possible." She looked at him thoughtfully.

"It’s only fair we give it a try. After all life is full of possibilities."

* * * * *

Draco slumped against the wall outside the Headmaster’s office. He swept his hair back with a quick motion of his hand and closed his eyes, breathing a heavy sigh. So he wouldn’t be expelled. It was better than he could have expected. And still on the Quidditch team. Hogsmeade…well that town was getting redundant anyhow, and one hundred house points. That might be a problem.

Slytherin would be in last place now. The others might have something to say about that.

He shook his head.

No they’ll just think it’s cool that I hexed a professor, Head of Gryffindor at that.

He grinned slightly. His reputation did need a bit of pumping up. People didn’t take him seriously enough. Now they might even be afraid of him. Father had always taught him fear was a powerful tool.

"Oh Shit. Father."

He had forgotten about that. Lucius would murder him. It was a stupid thing to have done, and his father would defiantly have something to say about it and the kind of risk it put him in to commit such actions. It would have very well been in Dumbledore’s right to expel a student for this sort of thing. And oh the embarrassment, the shame…

Maybe Snape could convince Dumbledore not to tell. He would have to ask. Draco pushed himself off the stone and made his way down the staircase.

* * * * *

Harry paused in mid bite of his mince pie, glancing up from his lunch in surprise.

"Look. It’s Malfoy," said Ron also noticing the blond entering the hall.

The majority of the Gryffindor table looked up from their lunches and conversations to watch the Slytherin as he made his way coolly to his table. The rest of the hall, too, grew quiet, interrupted only by a hum of whispering as the other students gradually noted Draco’s presence.

"Look at him. He acts as if nothing has happened," whispered Hermione. "Do you think Professor Dumbledore expelled him?"

"Don’t be silly Hermione, if he were expelled what would he still be doing here?" Ron stated with authority.

Hermione gave him a withering look. "Well with what he did, it would only make sense that he would be."

Harry tore his thoughtful gaze from the Slytherin table and took up his fork once again. "We can go ask Hagrid after classes today. Maybe he’ll have heard something," he suggested as he took a bite of his pie, thoughts still lingering on the blond boy sitting across the hall.

Harry’s apparent dismissal of the situation effectively stopped short the discussion as the rest of the table followed his lead and went back to their food and gossip. The rest of the Great Hall too was soon full of cheerful chatter as the moment passed and their attention focused back on other things.

Draco sat at his usual spot and let out his breath, relaxing into his seat as he felt the numerous staring eyes leave him. He watched his plate fill with food and picked up his goblet taking a small sip of pumpkin juice. He had felt fairly self conscious walking into the hall as all those heads turned his way, as if he were some kind of magnet and they’d had iron plates bolted to their foreheads. It would figure that everyone would know about the incident by now. Gossip spread through Hogwarts faster than Viktor Krum after the Golden Snitch.

He felt slightly better as he sat down to receive a round of pats on the back from his housemates and nods of approval and admiration from all around the table. Draco dug his fork into the lasagna and took a generous bite. The Headmaster was right. It was good. But he didn’t feel much like eating at the moment. The nerves were still too tight in his stomach to let anything settle in a decent manner.

Abandoning his meal, he let his eyes wander around the hall, settling finally on the Gryffindor table as they always did. Oh the laugh they must have been having at his expense. As an angry flush tainted his pale cheeks he silently swore to himself.

The fist word out of Potter’s mouth about this and I'll Avada Kedavra him, he promised emptily. He wouldn’t be made a fool of by a bunch of Gryffindors. If Potter planned to taunt him with this, well the boy would definitely pay.

It had been Potter’s fault in the first place. And if Lucius found out…

Draco nodded his head resolutely.

He will definitely pay.