Chapter 1228: Heir of a Death Eater
Chapter 1228: Heir of a Death Eater
Draco Malfoy came to a halt at the entrance of Borgin and Burkes on the eighth floor of the castle. Using a Disillusionment Charm as cover, he looked around cautiously. Satisfied that no one was around, he quickly opened the door, slipped inside, and closed it behind him, shutting out the nagging feeling of being watched.
Over the past few days, Draco had been feeling inexplicably agitated, as if he were constantly being watched. No matter what he did, he couldn't shake the feeling of being under surveillance.
Even using a Sneakoscope hadn't helped; the thing just kept on whistling.
Of course, it could also be his imagination. Ever since his father, Lucius, had been exposed as a Death Eater, many Hogwarts students had been giving him odd looks and whispering behind his back. But Draco didn't really care about their stares or gossip. He knew that only when the Dark Lord regained power would these annoying people shut their mouths like frightened rabbits.
As for getting into an argument with them, he might not be able to resist jinxing them.
Moreover, for Draco, who was entrusted with an important task by the Dark Lord, attracting attention was the last thing he wanted. Staying under the radar and quietly fulfilling the Dark Lord's mission was his best course of action at the moment.
Skilfully navigating through the piles of junk and discarded items, Draco finally stood before a tall cabinet. He couldn't understand why Snape thought he would be able to fix this mess.
Had the man lost his mind?
Draco pulled out Borgin's repair notes from his robe pocket and read them word for word. He had gone over these notes countless times and could almost recite their contents by heart. Yet, they still offered no help in repairing the vanishing cabinet in front of him.
Draco could only try again and again, doing his best to fix the cabinet, but it remained as broken as ever, showing no signs of improvement.
Each test was enough to make any user drop dead on the spot, and the apple he placed inside the cabinet always came out looking as if it had been chewed on.
"Damn it! If I had a Felix Felicis, I might have been able to fix this piece of junk with some luck!"
Draco couldn't help but think of the reward Professor Slughorn had offered during their first class.
And it had been taken by Harry Potter.
What made it even more regrettable was that the old professor seemed to have an aversion to Death Eaters. He instinctively rejected Draco, even though Draco had tried multiple times to curry favor with him.
Stealing Felix Felicis from Professor Slughorn was out of the question, unless Draco had gone mad. As for asking his mother to procure it from the black market...
Not only did he not have a way to obtain it, but even if he did get his hands on the potion, he might not dare to use it.
Felix Felicis was a tricky potion; if it wasn't brewed correctly, it would turn into a deadly poison. Otherwise, Draco would have attempted to brew it himself.
As for asking Snape for help! He had considered that too, but to no avail! Snape obviously didn't have any Felix Felicis in store, nor did he have the time to brew it for Draco, nor did he know where to buy it.
Thinking about these troubles, Draco sighed heavily. He felt he might need to find another way, as infiltrating the school through the Hogwarts secret passages seemed unreliable.
He couldn't be sure if this method would be detected, but it certainly seemed more likely to be exposed than using the vanishing cabinet to sneak people into Hogwarts unnoticed.
As Draco dragged his tired body away from Borgin and Burkes, he once again heard the whispers of students around him on his way back to the Slytherin common room. At first, he thought they were gossiping about him again, but when he slowed down, he realized what was really going on.
Everyone was talking about Dark Arts defense, a topic that seemed to be all the rage lately.
Apparently, many students wanted to join the Defense Association, the organization founded by that Mudblood.
Did they really think that Mudblood had the ability to protect them or teach them Dark Arts defense? Draco had always found the idea of Dark Arts defense laughable, and he certainly didn't believe he needed to learn it himself.
"What are you lot up to?"
As soon as he entered the common room, Draco saw a student hanging in mid-air, struggling frantically. He frowned and looked at the culprit responsible for this scene.
"He's a traitor," Crabbe muttered.
"You shouldn't be causing trouble, at least not recently," Draco said irritably, glaring at Goyle and Crabbe. He warned them in a voice that only the two could hear, "I'm working on something very important right now, and I don't want any attention. So, don't make a fuss."
After casting a Forgetfulness Charm to erase the student's memory, Draco put him down.
Only after sending the unlucky student away did he sit down on the sofa and ask impatiently, "Now, tell me, what's all this about?"
"Are you really working for..."
"Don't pry into some things," Draco interrupted impatiently. "You're not ready to know yet, or you'll get into trouble."
"Oh," Goyle said, sounding disappointed.
"Have you heard of the Defense Association?" Crabbe asked.
"I know... many people have joined Potter's DA," Draco said, indicating that he was aware of this matter.
"No, not Potter's DA, but the Defense Association founded by that Mudblood, Albert Anderson," Crabbe said, his teeth clenched in anger at the mention of Albert.
"So, that guy wants to join too?" Draco asked, his expression strange. "But I'm curious, would that Mudblood even accept a Slytherin student?"
"I don't know, I saw that Mudblood discussing this with students from other houses," Crabbe said through gritted teeth. "He..."
"Oh, I think I get it now," Draco said, raising his hand to interrupt. "I know you're angry, but it's pointless. I have a lot on my plate right now, and I must complete my plan before the end of the term. I don't want you two to cause any trouble for me."
He gave them a peculiar look and continued, "If the plan succeeds, believe me, the entire wizarding world, and even Hogwarts, will change. Until then, you need to be patient and wait for the outcome. Don't tell me you don't have that much patience."
Goyle and Crabbe nodded, signaling that they understood.
"Good."
After dismissing the tired duo, Draco pulled out his homework from his backpack. He hated this stuff but had to spend time on it to avoid being locked up by the professors for not doing his homework.
Staring at the parchment in front of him, Draco hesitated to start. His thoughts had already wandered far away.
By now, Draco had completely lost the fervor he had when he first accepted the task. He just wanted to complete the nearly impossible mission so that he and his family could survive.
He had once considered abandoning the Dark Lord's task and going into hiding with his family, but traitors of the Dark Lord never fared well. He simply didn't have the courage to gamble with their lives.
But wasn't he gambling now, just by putting all his hopes on Snape?
If Snape failed, they would all die.
Whether it was Snape or his family, they would all perish! Why had things turned out this way?
It was all because of the... no, it was that damn Mudblood's fault.
Yes, it was all his fault.
(End of Chapter)
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