Corrupt

Chapter Two

Innocence Reviled

     His footsteps echoed down the corridor after promptly slamming the doors to the Great Hall behind him. He couldn't understand why after five years they couldn't stop themselves from meddling in his business. Always the silent type, creeping his way into situations that benefitted him but otherwise staying put in private surroundings, he was disturbed by the notion of girls fawning over him- and of all creatures, Pansy.

     He detested the girl's lack of self-respect. She would find the unapproachable epitome of masculinity for the year to drool after and when slapped into reality by her lack of honest, sincere connections she fell unto her back-up: long time school-mate, Draco. He had never the time of day to distort her daydreams with truth, and this most certainly was not going to be that moment.

     "Draco? What's wrong?" asked Pansy, in her most concerned voice. What annoyed Draco the most was the very idea that she was actually concerned! She had meant nothing to him, and yet he meant the world to her. He was all she had in the world- and he didn't appreciate that pedestal at all.

     "When I storm out alone without a word, I don't expect to be followed."

     "But something scared you, and I just thought that maybe..."

     "Do yourself a favor Pansy, put your mind to rest and concentrate on simpler issues that you can grasp more realistically, like who's foot you're caressing. One step at time- backwards now- that's a good girl," Draco spit out patronizingly. It only served to better herself if he spoke harshly- delicate words only confused the innocence that laid be in Pansy's mentality. How he reviled that innocence. It served as a buffer to reality- sugar-coating pain and suffering with wishy-washy romanticism and fantasy.

     "I, um, I'll see you in, in Potions then..." incoherently muttered a near-shattered Pansy. She would survive the blow, it never damaged her before. She left dazed, without so much as a tear. Draco took it as a sign of incomprehensibility. She wasn't able to understand his clear intent on having her leave him alone permanently because something in her mind refused to believe it.

     Like a dog, thought Draco. No matter what you do to them, they are loyal followers to their master. There lay a bitter chill to the latter appendage of his thought. He, too, was a follower. Though his loyalty was tested time and time again, he returned, like a dog, to his master. Silence was his only refuge, and even that was a rare state to be in.

     He glanced back at the wide doors. They hadn't fully closed, and he was able to make out a bit of the room- the Gryffindor table. Aptly labeled brave, their courage stemmed from the muggle belief in patriotism, a concept understood and respected at Hogwarts, but only towards respective houses and purebloods. He remained stone, even as the warmth of their smiles radiated around them, casting an invisible but powerful glow about their table. It was difficult to find external faults within the clan, but Draco was more than inclined to exaggerate their internal weaknesses....

     Suddenly the soldiers of peace were approached by Hermione, a seemingly uncomfortable gesture by the looks of it. Draco realized he'd been staring, and began a brisk pace towards his bed chambers- books and breakfast in hand. Classes would begin in promptly 20 minutes, allowing just enough time to shuffle through notes, drop off library books, and enter Potions class free of morning duties. But he couldn't quite drag his body far enough away from the Great Hall to block his sight of her.

     She was not beautiful in the sense that one could be blinded by her glamour. No, not quite that exquisite. Yet she beheld something unknown, undetectable, that made one take notice of her entrance, and left one cold in her absence. And so when the Slytherin intellect approached the Gryffindor table, many took note of it and turned to her in close observation of her every word and movement. A silence befell the crowd as she spoke...

     "I believe these are yours. Thank you." The room was entranced by the graciousness in her voice. Rivalries are not taken lightly, and to communicate with an enemy is regarded as treacherous- nay!- treason. Hermione's actions in her return of Harry Potter's notebook in public were quaint, and so did not escape critique. The silence remained to see what Potter's response to her behavior would be...

     "You're quite welcome to them anytime." An abrupt commencement of hushed and hurried whispers rained on the walls and spilled into the hallway. Draco was not amused by this intimate truce- and he made it known with a glare so venomous it poisoned the sun of the dawning day. The doors to the Great Hall closed so violently the windows of the castle shook. He would make her full aware of his explicit notice of her behavior- and the consequences it entailed.

     As he spun around he collided with Severus Snape- professor of Potions and guardian of Slytherin House. The men exchanged glances and thoughts simultaneously, and their attitudes- both being toxic and severe- met in a violent discourse.

     "You cannot make your feelings known Malfoy. Her personal exchanges with the other students are none of your concern and are not forbidden in anyway. Whatever bond she forges, whatever information she chooses to give or receive are her own business and not yours," warned Snape in his most serious tone. Severus knew fully the intentions of Draco- but his temper had to be cooled if he were to remain alive.

     "You can't be serious! She sees me leave and feels the liberty to approach him! Of all of them, she trades class notes with him! I don't care what relationship they have as muggles, she is not free to approach him here without consequence- and no, Snape, it is not just consequence at my hand that I refer to. You know full well what she faces if..."

     "If what? If he finds out? Draco, you speak with a wisdom that is beyond your years of matters which are not yours to reckon with. Learn your place and stay there. And do not speak a word of what you have seen or the behavior you have just exhibited yourself- am I clear? She places no one in direct danger- it is what interferes with her relationships that matters, and that means you, Malfoy. Make no mistake of it- if you bring her into attention..."

     He was interrupted by an outburst by Draco, "She brings herself into attention by approaching him at breakfast! Could she have not waited until later? Until class? She is the only one in Slytherin with that kind of a background and you know that has both a significance in the house and an impact on everything she does!" By now Draco was furious, both at Snape for his logical assessment of the situation, and at having been caught before he could have a thorough talking-to with Hermione. His breathing was rapid and his temper in flames. He kept true to his namesake, and Snape knew well the intensity of his explosions.

     He kept his demeanor calm in hopes of frustrating the provocation of his student's maliciousness. "I am well aware of everything you have just said, and do not believe for one second that I am not plagued constantly with those very thoughts. For now, do as I say and drop it. There will come a time when this situation will be dealt with, but now is not it. Go about your business and cool yourself or you will find yourself in personal danger by my own hands, Malfoy," and with that the black-robed professor opened the door to a pale group of students- marred by the echoing of the doors having been so viciously closed.

     The day had just barely begun, and Draco was already counting down to nightfall.