The Other Side of the Mirror

The Other Side of the Mirror

Year One

Chapter Seven

-The Sorcerer's Stone-

After that horrible night in the forest, Draco could hardly function the next morning, due to his lack of sleep. He sat in the library hours on end, studying for the fast approaching exams.

The exams came swiftly and the classrooms were nearly unbearable, they were so hot, especially in the rooms where they had their written exams. They had been given special new quills for the exams, which had been bewitched with an Anti-Cheating spell, much to Crabbe and Goyle's dismay.

They also had practical exams. Professor Flitwick had them come up one by one to see if they could make a pineapple tap dance across his desk. Professor McGonagall had them turn a mouse into a snuffbox - the nicer looking it was, the more points, but if it still had whiskers, points were taken away. During Potions, Snape had them make a Forgetfulness potion, which didn't go too badly in Draco's opinion.

After their written test in History of Magic, they were finally finished and set free. They had to wait one week until their exam results came in but then it was off to their summer holidays.

Draco walked outside, followed by Crabbe, Goyle, Brandon, Terrace and Tawny. They sat down under the shade of a large tree, looking at the lake glinting in the distance. "Finally, we're free!" Brandon cried, collapsing onto the cool grass.

Draco laid back, putting his arms beneath his head. His cloak spread out on the grass around him. "The exams weren't too bad, but it was just so bloody hot in those classrooms!"

"Tell me about it," Tawny said, sitting against the tree. "I thought my head was going to explode from the heat."

"Well, at least you studied," Terrace grumbled. "I did a little and I thought I knew what I was doing, but then I got to the exams and it all flew out the window."

"That can happen," Draco said dryly. "I wonder what I got," he added thoughtfully.

"What do you care? You don't have to worry. You lived in the library for the past few months," Brandon said jokingly.

"Yeah, he did," Crabbe said, laughing.

"We hardly saw you," Goyle said. "We thought you had disappeared."

"Of course I didn't, Goyle," Draco said, rolling his eyes.

"Well, I, for one, hope I passed," Tawny said. "My parents will be furious if I did poorly."

"Why are we talking about exams?" Brandon asked. "We should be enjoying our freedom."

"Lie back and relax, that's the key," Draco said, closing his eyes.

"That cloud looks like a bunny," Crabbe said.

"Oooohh, there's a bird," Goyle said.

"That's nice," Draco muttered and proceeded to fall asleep, the cool breeze fluttering across his face.

~ ~ ~

That evening, in the common room, there was a large party. Everyone was celebrating the end of the exams and were bent on enjoying their freedom. After awhile, the noise began to irritate Draco, as it had come to an exceedingly high level. He looked at Crabbe and Goyle, who were eating sweets as usual.

Around one o'clock, Draco finally had had enough of the party. "Crabbe, Goyle, come on. I want to get some fresh air," Draco said, hopping off of the edge of the table he had been sitting on.

They looked at him. Goyle swallowed. "What about these?" he asked, holding up a pile of cookies and cakes.

"They'll still be here when you get back," Draco said, rolling his eyes. "Let's go."

After stuffing his pockets full of sweets, Goyle came trailing after Draco, another pile of sweets in his hands. He bit into a cake. "Wha we boin?" Goyle asked, his mouth full.

Draco ignored him, and walked up the stairs and out of their common room, Crabbe and Goyle following close behind. The cool, silent corridors were a relief from the noise within their common room and Draco began walking.

Torches lit the hall, casting shadows. As they came up into the entrance hall, they looked up at the moving staircases. "Let's explore," Draco said, smiling. Crabbe and Goyle were silent. "Well, are we agreed?" he asked, turning around and looked right into the face of Professor Snape. "P-Professor Snape," Draco said, swallowing. I'm in so much trouble!

"Malfoy, come with me. Crabbe, Goyle, you two, come on," Snape said quickly.

"But Professor -"

"Silence Malfoy," Snape said and led them up a few staircases and through a large red door that they had never entered before.

As soon as they stepped into the corridor, Draco had a very unsettling feeling. This was the third floor corridor, the one they weren't allowed to be on! What are we doing here? Why me?

Draco followed behind Snape quietly as they walked through an open door into a large room. Draco bit back a yell of surprise at the large three-headed dog that was in a corner, sound asleep as the music of a harp played softly. Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall stood next to an opening in the floor with several other students. Draco looked at their badges and saw that they were all Gryffindors, but older students. He spotted the Weasley twins and then he spotted Granger. What is she doing here?

"Good, Severus, I see you have found a few more students," Dumbledore said. "Let's get going, shall we? Take out your wands everyone, just in case." Draco watched as Dumbledore tapped the floor near the open hatchway and a staircase appeared. Dumbledore began walking down, followed by Professor McGonagall and the Gryffindors. Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle followed suit, and behind them was Professor Snape.

As they walked lower, Draco looked over at what looked like a huge mess of tangled limbs of a plant. What is that thing? But they walked deeper.

Finally hitting the ground, they walked through a high arched room. Fluttering noises brought Draco's attention to the ceiling where there were at least a thousand winged things that looked like keys. Keys? Winged keys. Where are we?

Draco glanced at the Gryffindors and saw that they weren't too sure about where they were either. Only Granger seemed to know exactly what was going on.

"What are we doing here?" Draco hissed to her.

"We need to get Ron and help Harry," she said quietly and moved ahead, leaving Draco behind to wonder why Weasley and Potter were down there in the first place.

They walked through an open door and out onto the remains of what looked like a giant chessboard. Draco's eyes went wide. "Is - is that a chessboard?" he stammered.

"Yes, Malfoy," Snape said.

"Ms. Granger, where is Mr. Weasley?" McGonagall asked.

"Over here," she said, leading them across piles of rubble and to the edge of the chessboard. Weasley was lying on the ground, unconscious, surrounded by rubble.

"Crabbe, Goyle, Fred, you will stay here with Professor McGonagall and help her take Mr. Weasley to the hospital wing," Dumbledore ordered. "Malfoy, George, Jordan, and Ms. Granger will follow Professor Snape and me to the Stone."

The Stone? What's that? Draco wondered as they split up. Draco followed Dumbledore beyond the chessboard and into a room where a line of potions sat. Flames appeared behind and in front of them. With a flick of his wand, Snape made the flames disappear and they kept walking. Draco could feel a knot of tension in his stomach. What are we going to find?

As they entered a large chamber with a deep depression in the center, Draco looked at a large, dusty mirror that sat down in the depression. Then he looked down at the stairs before them and saw a robe covered in dust and Potter, lying sprawled on the stairs unconscious, a gleaming red stone in his hand.

"Harry!" Granger cried.

"It's alright, Hermione," the Weasley twin assured her. "I think he's just knocked out."

"What is that?" Draco asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"That, Mr. Malfoy, is the Sorcerer's Stone," Dumbledore said, stooping down to pick up the stone. "I fear that Harry had a bad run in."

"With who?" Draco asked.

"Voldemort."

Draco winced slightly at the name. Even at home they never spoke the Dark Lord's name. "But why would he be here?"

"To get the Stone, of course," Snape said as he checked Harry. "He's alive, just unconscious."

"Let's get him to the hospital wing," Dumbledore said. "Jordan, George, Malfoy, carry Potter behind us."

They nodded and walked over to Potter, picking him up. "We will find a safe place for this until we destroy it," Dumbledore said, pocketing the stone.

Granger walked up to Potter, looking at him worriedly. "Oh, I hope he's alright."

"He's fine," Draco muttered as they carried Potter. He's always fine; he's Potter. He was a lot heavier than he looked.

~ ~ ~

After coming back through the trapdoor and taking Potter to the hospital wing, they were sent back to their common rooms. As soon as Draco got back, he wasn't surprised to see that the common room was still filled with students, only a little quieter his time. He quickly got their attention and filled them in on what had just happened.

"So the Sorcerer's Stone actually exists?" Karl asked.

Draco nodded. "Saw it with my own eyes."

"That was pretty brave; Potter going against You-Know-Who like that," someone commented.

A murmur of agreement flooded through the large group of Slytherins

"Facing him like that! That had to be terrifying!" another commented.

"I'll admit, it wasn't too bad, but if you go around acting like he's some sort of hero, he's going to get a bigger head than he already has," Draco said. Not too bad; that was brilliant! I wouldn't have lasted a minute down there with the Dark Lord. But, of course, I'll never say that aloud. People would think I was getting soft on Potter and if my father found out, I'd be in for it.

"I suppose," Tawny said, "but you still have to admit, it was heroic."

"Come on, it's Potter!" Marcus said, rolling his eyes. "You know he'll do anything for attention; after all, he did grow up with Muggles."

Murmurs of agreement and disagreement filtered through the group. "Well, I for one am glad that it's over and we don't have to worry about You-Know-Who coming back anytime soon," Sandra said.

"True," Terence said.

"What are we doing, standing around discussing Potter when we should be celebrating? We've got the House Cup!" Adrian called.

"Seventh year in a row!" someone yelled.

"That makes it every year for me!" a seventh-year yelled.

Shouts went up and the noise level rose quickly. Draco quickly ducked out and headed up to bed. He was drained from having had no sleep because of exams and then the tension of helping them find Weasley, Potter, and the Sorcerer's Stone. He pulled on his pajamas and crawled into his bed, falling into an exhausted sleep.

~ ~ ~

Two days later, Draco received a package from his mother. He took it back to his room and opened it, revealing a box of Every Flavor Beans, Chocolate Frogs, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands, and Fizzing Whizbees. He looked around to make sure nobody was around and took out the Every Flavor Beans and Fizzing Whizbees. He left the common room and headed to the hospital wing.

Madam Pomfrey walked over to him as he entered. "Can I help you Mr. Malfoy?" she asked.

"I just want to give these to Harry," Draco said, showing her the candy.

She nodded. "Very well, but don't disturb him. He's still sleeping."

Draco nodded and walked past her and over to Potter's bed. His glasses had been laid on the bedside table and the table at the foot of his bed was covered in cards, candy, and sweets. No trouble when he's sleeping, Draco thought with a slight chuckle. Not bad, Potter, not bad at all. You were really brave down there, facing up to the Dark Lord. I don't know what I'm going to do when my time comes to face him since I know that my father has had dealings with him in the past. Of course, I don't know if I'll be able to be as brave as you were. You're really something, Potter, do you know that? No, I suppose you don't. You're lucky, don't ever forget that. If luck could be seen, it would be coming out of your ears. I don't know how you managed to survive that encounter. Well, the Sorcerer's Stone is no more; Dumbledore is having it destroyed. But I have a sinking feeling that the Dark Lord will return and I hope you're ready Potter, because we need you. If you're not around, we're all doomed.

Draco set down the box of Every Flavor Beans and the packs of Fizzing Whizbees. "Enjoy them, Potter," Draco said quietly. "You deserve it."

He left the hospital wing and went back to the common room. Terrace, Brandon, Crabbe, and Goyle were waiting for him when he came in.

"We've been looking for you, it's time to head out to the last Quidditch match: Gryffindor against Ravenclaw," Brandon said.

Draco nodded. "Let me get my scarf and gloves." He ran upstairs and came back, scarf and gloves in hand.

"Last one!" Goyle said as they walked outside.

Draco wrapped the scarf around his neck, pulling on his gloves. "I hope Ravenclaw wins," Draco said.

"Oh, they will," Terrace said. "Potter's still in the hospital wing, so they're putting one of the alternate Chasers in for Seeker. This should be interesting."

Draco laughed. "Gryffindor doesn't have a chance."

~ ~ ~

Indeed, Ravenclaw flattened Gryffindor and the Slytherins were very excited. The next day would be the end-of-year feast and the Slytherins planned on savoring every moment.

Soon the last day arrived and the Slytherin common room was in an uproar. They headed to the feast in one large group, a vast majority of the Slytherins sneering, smirking, or laughing as they passed the other houses. The Gryffindors were sullen and Draco smiled. We top them yet again.

As they entered the Great Hall, Draco grinned, looking at the hall that was decked out in the green and silver for their house. A huge banner showing the Slytherin crest hung above the High Table.

They sat down at their table, cheering and talking excitedly. "This is bloody brilliant!" a seventh-year yelled.

Suddenly a hush filled the hall and Draco looked to see Potter walking in. The noise rose again and Draco saw that a few people were actually standing to see Potter. Draco just rolled his eyes.

"Potter will never let us live this one down," Draco sneered, looking at Marcus, who was sitting next to him. Crabbe and Goyle were sitting to Draco's left.

"I know. But at least we won the House Cup," Marcus said, grinning. "Every year so far for me!"

At that moment Dumbledore arrived and the hall went silent. "Another year gone!" Dumbledore said cheerfully, standing at his place at the High Table. "And I must trouble you with an old man's wheezing waffle before we sink our teeth into our delicious feast. What a year it has been! Hopefully your heads are all a little fuller than they were . . . you have the whole summer ahead to get them nice and empty before next year starts . . ." Some of the students laughed at this. "Now, as I understand it, the House Cup needs awarding, and the points stand thus: In fourth place, Gryffindor, with three hundred and twelve points; in third, Hufflepuff, with three hundred and fifty-two points; in second, Ravenclaw with four hundred and twenty-six points; and in first, Slytherin house with four hundred and seventy-two points."

The Slytherin table erupted in shouts, feet stomping, cheering, and many smug looks towards the other tables. Draco smirked at Weasley, who was looking at him. Weasley turned away. Yes! We've won the House Cup! My father will be so pleased!

Draco grinned, cheering along with the rest of the Slytherins.

"Yes, yes, well done, Slytherin, well done," Dumbledore said, "however, recent events must be taken into account."

Draco froze in mid-cheer, his smile fading. The room was very still and the smiles were disappearing from the rest of the Slytherins.

"There are a few last-minute points to award. To Miss Hermione Granger, for the cool use of intellect in the face of danger, fifty points. Second, to Mr. Ronald Weasley for the best played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years, fifty points."

This can't be happening! Draco thought.

"Third, to Mr. Harry Potter, for pure love and outstanding bravery, I award Gryffindor house, sixty points." The room was completely silent. "And lastly, It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to your enemies, but a great deal more to stand up to your friends. I therefore award ten points to Gryffindor house in the name of Neville Longbottom."

As the room erupted into a deafening roar, Draco looked at the Gryffindors, stunned and completely horrified. He felt like he was going to cry. Draco saw Potter and Weasley glance at him smugly, cheering. Then the Gryffindors threw their hats up into the air, the other two houses doing the same. Draco pulled off his hat, slamming it onto the table. All the Slytherins looked down at the table, crestfallen.

"Which means, we need a little change of decoration," Dumbledore said. He clapped his hands. In an instant, the green hangings became scarlet and the silver became gold; the huge Slytherin serpent vanished and a towering Gryffindor lion took its place.

Draco buried his face in his arms. Stupid Potter and his stupid friends! They ruined everything! We worked hard for those points and then Dumbledore had to go and give Gryffindor one hundred and sixty points! Just like that! It wasn't fair! Potter gets everything! I hate him! I hate Granger! I hate Weasley, and I hate all the rest of the Gryffindors! He slammed his fist onto the table, lifting his head. He shot a look of pure hatred at Potter, who was surrounded by cheering Gryffindors. The rest of the Slytherins were glaring at the Gryffindors as well and nobody spoke a word.

That evening had been one of the most horrible nights of Draco's life and he wasn't sure if would ever be able to face his father.

~ ~ ~

They received their exam results the next day and it brightened Draco's foul mood a tiny bit. He had scored in the upper nineties and lower one hundreds on all of his exams; his hard work had paid off. But, of course, Granger had the highest grades. Can't wait until father learns that a Mudblood got the best grades in our entire class, Draco thought sarcastically. Surprisingly, Goyle and Crabbe managed to scrape their way through, passing by a thread. Draco didn't know if they'd make it to their third year, much less past the OWLS that they would have to take in their fifth year.

They all received notes, warning them not to use magic over the holidays.

The train ride was silent in Draco's compartment, although Crabbe and Goyle were stuffing themselves as usual. Draco watched sullenly as the scenery passed by, becoming greener as they neared King's Cross Station.

When they pulled into the station, Draco looked around for his parents, but they were nowhere to be seen. My parents couldn't even be bothered to come pick me up, Draco thought bitterly. Probably too ashamed that Slytherin lost the House Cup. Potter at least has people waiting for him, even if they are Muggles. At least they're family. A man walked over to him as he came off of the train and he recognized him as Macnair. "Your father sent me to retrieve you. Let's go," Macnair said coolly. Draco nodded, still depressed about the previous day's events.

"Draco!"

Draco turned to see Brandon, Terrace, and Tawny running over to him. Draco gave them a small smile. "Hi," he said.

"We'll stay in touch over the summer, okay?" Terrace asked.

Draco nodded. "Right."

"Bye, Draco," Tawny said.

"Don't look so sad, the year's over," Brandon said. "We'll win the cup next year."

"Maybe," Draco said, not believing it for a second. With Potter at Hogwarts, Gryffindor will always win because everyone favors him. It's not fair to the rest of us who actually work hard to accomplish our goals. And the Slytherins most of all because nobody favors us. They all hate us. "We'll get together and play Quidditch sometime."

Brandon grinned. "Sure thing."

"See you soon!" Terrace said as he and Tawny walked away.

Draco gave them a small wave.

"I'll owl you when I get home," Brandon said.

"Okay," Draco said and Brandon left.

Draco turned to Macnair, who was looking at him with a cool expression. "Finished?" Macnair asked coldly.

"Yes," Draco said softly and followed Macnair away from the Hogwarts Express.