Invisible Trail

Chapter Six: Nightmare

Draco Malfoy had been an early bird since his childhood. He could clearly remember what happened when he did not wake up at the right time; even though he had tried to forget the punishments, the scars would always be there to remind him never to anger his father. Lucius Malfoy was not a tolerant man, especially when it came to the Malfoy code. The Malfoy family was a prominent one in the magical world and every one of its members was expected to act according to the code in order to protect its power. Yet, the Malfoys were not only respected, but also feared; their inclination towards the Dark Arts was widely known, but their ostensible manners could be highly deceiving, making it almost impossible to prove anything against them. This reputation had to be protected at any cost.

However, Draco was just waking up and it was already pretty late. Fortunately, he was at Hogwarts and very far away from his father's grasp. It was Sunday, which meant he had no classes and could enjoy the day by giving detentions and deducting points from the Gryffindors for whatever reason. Nonetheless, he was not in the mood even to get out of bed. The previous night had not turned out the way he had expected.

He rolled over to lie on his belly and placed the pillow over his head trying to make those memories go away, but it was not working at all. Generally, the return to Hogwarts meant being able to bother Potty, Weasel and the Mudblood Granger, nevertheless, on the train he was remembered how much the wizard world had changed over the summer: Potter was gone. He had never liked him, but he had to admit he would miss the way Snape made his life miserable. Even Hogwarts had suffered a big change and this was not good at all.

* Flashback *

"Oh! I would like the Head Boy and Girl to meet me here after showing the first year students to their dormitories. That's all. Now, to bed!" Dumbledore said.

Draco rolled his eyes pretending to be annoyed at having been appointed Head Boy, but he was truly proud: perfect Potter had finally lost against him . . . publicly. He had always had better grades than him (except in Defense Against the Dark Arts), but now all the school knew and as soon as his father spoke to one of the Daily Prophet reporters, the whole magical world would find out.

He stood up and guided the new Slytherins through the castle and into their common room, leaving them to find out by themselves where their dormitories laid. They had to learn that independence was a Slytherin trait.

He left to meet Dumbledore without a word to Crabbe and Goyle, who were sitting on the couches and eating the desserts they had stolen from the table at dinner.

He reached the Great Hall, only to find that neither Dumbledore nor the Head Girl had arrived. He did not need to be told who she was and he disliked the mere thought of it.

A few minutes later, Granger came in. She saw him, but it took a moment for her brain to understand why he was standing there. Then, her smile faded, her arms fell, her eyes opened as big as saucers, her face paled, and her breathing stopped; she was on the edge of fainting.

"Glad to see me, uh?" Draco pointed out with his icy voice. "Who were you expecting? Potty?" His cold grey eyes were penetrating hers and he could see anger building inside her, yet there was a tear rolling down her cheek. Before she could answer, Dumbledore came in.

"Good, you're both here," he started. "I see you have finally found out who else was named Head for this year. I asked Professor McGonagall not to mention anything in your letters as she normally does, but I dare say you must have had some idea who was going to be appointed." Granger looked at Draco and slightly nodded.

"I asked you to meet me here because I need to let you know the changes that have been made for this year. The entire school counts on your support and we are certain that you will definitely not disappoint us," Dumbledore said in matter-of-fact tone. He guided them towards the teacher's table and sat in his usual chair. Draco didn't know whether to stay standing up or sit down beside the Headmaster, but Granger seemed to have a better idea. She made a chair appear out of the air with a swift flick of her wand. Draco decided to do a more impressive demonstration of his abilities by transfigurating an empty bottle into an elegant and comfortable chair for himself. Granger's reaction was exactly the one he had expected: she turned around to look at him and then rolled her eyes.

"As a safety measure, every night there will be people patrolling the corridors. These people are going to be not only the teachers but also our Heads. The difference is that your curfew will be a little bit earlier than the teachers'," Dumbledore said.

"Excuse me, Headmaster, but at what hour our curfew is going to be?" Draco asked.

"One or two AM perhaps," Dumbledore responded unimportantly. Draco observed Granger was fighting the urge to say something, but Dumbledore answered before she even had time to open her mouth. "Your patrol will be on Friday night, so don't worry about the possibility of falling asleep in class and missing something important." Dumbledore seemed to have read her mind because she blushed vaguely.

A few moments passed in silence and he first thought that Dumbledore had already finished, but then he saw the old man and noticed he was pondering about something yet he knew not what that something was. Draco decided to wait just a moment and see what he was up to. After a minute or so, Dumbledore started walking and beckoned them to follow him.

He led them through a corridor full of paintings Draco had never seen. The paintings had different subjects. There were a few portraits of famous witches and wizards, but most of the paintings depicted magical creatures in their natural habitats. Finally, they reached the painting of the most incredible phoenix Draco had ever seen: its plumage was gold and crimson coloured and its wings were partially stretched as if guarding the chest that laid beside it.

Suddenly, the portrait flew open and they entered into some sort of common room. The room was well lit and completely painted in white. It had Hogwart's crest on the far wall. In the centre, it had two comfortable-looking couches and a table. On the right side, there were a couple of bookshelves already full and on the left side, there were some empty ones. A staircase went up on the far end of the room and upstairs a corridor lead to two different doors. Draco wanted to ask what this place was, but he sensed what the answer was and he did not like it at all.

"Excuse me, Professor Dumbledore, but what is this place?" Granger asked without hesitation.

"These are your headquarters, Miss Granger, and yours also, Mr. Malfoy."

"Uh. . ." was everything they both managed to answer.

"Your rooms are upstairs. Miss Granger's is on the right side and Mr. Malfoy's on the left side. You'll see all your belongings have been already brought here and in your rooms you'll find a door that connects to the bathroom," Dumbledore explained.

"But, Headmaster, I had never heard of this place before. I know for a fact that the Heads have always been in their House dormitories," Draco pointed out.

"And right you are, Mr. Malfoy. This place had been unused for centuries, but during the summer holidays it was repaired. Since your responsibilities as Heads have increased considerably, we thought it would be nice to grant you your own space as a school treat for all your help. I am sure both of you will enjoy being here," Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eyes.

Draco was not happy. When he was named Head Boy he thought it would do marvels for his reputation. He would be the authority, yet Granger would do all the dirty work. But now, he had to share a common room with her ! This was not working the way he had planned it. Apparently, Granger had not expected this either because she had a sour look plastered on her face, as if she had just been told she had failed an exam. After a few moments though, she seemed to accept there was no way she could escape this.

"Professor, could you please tell us what the password is? I was not able to hear you say it before we came in." That was a good question, Draco thought after reflexing for a moment. He had definitely not heard Dumbledore say a single word when they were in front of the painting.

"There is no password," Dumbledore responded. "The painting will fly open the moment it sees any of you two or me."

"But if anyone takes on our appearance, they will be able to come in," Draco refuted.

"The painting depicts a phoenix, Malfoy. It is impossible to deceive them, even with magic. Any kind of disguise can be spotted by them, not even the Polijuice Potion works." Dumbledore seemed impressed by her easiness to explain this.

"Anyway, it is getting far too late and you two should be getting some sleep. Good night." With that Dumbledore stepped out of the common room.

Before Draco noticed, Granger was already exploring the place. She went to the bookshelves, obviously trying to find a book she had not read yet. He went upstairs to check his bedroom and was marvelled by what he saw. His bed was king size with black sheets made of silk and there was a bedside table on the right side. The room also had a closet and a desk over which hung the painting of a beautiful pegasus.

After trying the bed for a few minutes (it was most comfortable), he decided to check out the bathroom. It had two separate showers on the far ends of it and a tub in the middle of them. On the left side, it had a toilet and on the right side, there was a mirror.

He returned to his room and changed into his pyjamas. He dropped himself on the bed and closed his eyes. Draco had to admit the headquarters were amazing; the only problem was the company. Living in the same place as Granger was going to a nightmare. After a couple of minutes, he was sound asleep.

*End of flashback*

Draco rolled onto his back again and looked at the clock he had placed over his bedside table. It was already midday, so he decided it was time to get up. He grabbed his things and took a long shower. He got dressed and gelled his hair back before deciding to go to the kitchens and get something for lunch since it was nearly time. He reached the common room and found Granger sitting in one of the couches with her arms grapped around her legs and her head placed between her knees. Draco knew she had not heard him yet, so he decided to play a little joke on her. He took his wand out of his pocket and silently walked in order to stand behind her. He lifted his arm and sent red sparks flying into the air and making a considerable amount of noise. Granger jumped startled and took out her wand. She quickly searched the room for the source of the noise and found Draco standing right behind the couch.

At first, she looked kind of relieved because it was only Draco so he naturally thought he was going to get away with it. How wrong he had been! She rapidly lifted her wand again.

"Petrificus totallus!" she yelled.

Draco's reflexes were not fast enough and inevitably fell to the floor. Granger glared at him furiously and left the common room, probably to get some lunch. Even though Draco could not move, he could feel his stomach grumbling, which he had never liked. Three minutes had passed since Granger left, when the portrait flew open. It was her.

"I don't want this to happen ever again, Malfoy," she warned him, "or else you will not live to tell the tale. Finite incantatem."

She had already left when Draco had finally managed to stand up. On his way to the kitchens, he saw her heading towards the Great Hall. Annoying Granger was not a good idea any longer, her temper could easily explode and, even though he was excellent at duelling, he would rather avoid having her as opponent. Yet, seeing her so livid was so fun. Next time she will not catch me off guard, Draco thought. She is wickedly smart, shame her heart is soft.