Bathroom,
Gryffindor's Dormitory
Draco Malfoy stood in front of the mirror and took his shirt off.
In between the pale, brown scars, you could see the smooth skin of an 11-year-old boy.
The scars were running down, sideways, and in the most random directions on his torso. Some were on his chest, stomach, waist, arms, and shoulders, and some were sprawled on his back like the lashings of a whip.
Eighty One.
Draco had counted them early in the morning after what happened in the Gryffindor Common Room. The number of scars was the same as the one that had been vomited out by his mouth.
He still couldn't remember what exactly had happened.
One thing was clear enough, though.
During the Battle of Legends, Draco had Apparated… and badly at that.
The scars on his body, every single one, were the results of Splinching — caused by unsuccessful Apparation.
When he had disapparated, Draco had left behind strips of flesh and had ended up not even somewhere far from the derailed Hogwarts Express, but… way deep into the sea, on some rock getting bashed by foamy waves.
Draco still remembered the pain he had experienced just after apparating. Then everything had gone numb. No matter how young or inexperienced he was, he knew he had been dying at that moment.
Yet, he survived.
How?
Draco had asked this question to himself countless times, getting no answer.
All he remembered was that when his eyes opened, he was among the students, getting escorted to Hogwarts under the watch of Aurors.
No more pain. No more blood. No more feeling the coming of death.
Only scars had remained on his body as a testament to what had occurred.
If that wasn't all, then the strangest thing Draco felt was that no one, not even his parents, had asked him to take off his shirt. Now that he thought about it, it wasn't like the Healers checked everyone for scars, but only those who looked visibly hurt.
By the way he had been walking with vigor, who, in their right mind, would have thought that something like that had happened to him?
Draco heard the steps and hurriedly put on his shirt.
It was the Mudblood and Harry Potter.
"Marveling your beauty in the mirror?" the Mudblood joked, smiling.
"Start counting your days, Mudblood," Draco spat, twisting his lips with a smile of his own. In this world, who else knew his sister better than him? Darcie would not show it. Oh, but she would act, sooner or later. He just needed to wait till then.
Then the Mudblood's situation would be solved at least.
Draco bumped his shoulder with Harry and Mudblood, making his way through the gap between them.
"Hey!" the Mudblood shouted.
Draco looked over his shoulder. "What?!"
"Your fly's open…"
Draco snapped his head down and saw everything was alright. Behind him, the Mudblood and Harry let out a hushed laugh. Gritting his teeth, Draco marched away with big steps, vowing to get back at both of them…
… even before Darcie got her turn.
…
"Let's visit Hagrid," Black said after coming out of the bathroom.
Harry raised an eyebrow. "I was also thinking about visiting him," he admitted. "I wonder why he didn't write to me to visit him on the weekend… Why are you interested?"
Black shrugged. "He sounds like a funny man."
Harry rolled his eyes. Of course… "Let me first write to him," he said as they walked out of the bathroom and went toward the Common Room. "What if he isn't available in his house?"
"He is."
"How do you know?"
"Trust me," Black said, smiling playfully. "I always know where Hagrid is."
…
[
Skill: Where's Hagrid?
Grade: C-
Specification: Tells main storyline Character Rubeus Hagrid's location
Requirement: 1st Threshold
Attributes: Mana Consumption: 100 MP
Effect: Shows a World Map Hologram, marking Rubeus Hagrid's live location, for all Harry Potter timelines across the Multiverse
Warning:
— The Skill can only be used while being physically presented in the same timeline
— The live location shown is only valid for the timeline where the Skill is activated
]
…
Harry ignored Black and looked ahead, stopping right before entering the space where you couldn't say anything but the truth within the Common Room.
"Where's Ron?!" Harry asked surprised.
"Here! Look up!"
Black and Harry snapped their heads up and saw… Ron and Draco stuck to the roof, their faces buried into the wall.
Black's lips twitched ruefully.
…
Hagrid lived in a small wooden house on the edge of the forbidden forest.
A crossbow and a pair of galoshes were outside the front door. When Harry knocked they heard a frantic scrabbling from inside and several booming barks.
Then Hagrid's voice rang out, saying, "Back, Fang — back."
Hagrid's big, hairy face appeared in the crack as he pulled the door open.
"Harry?!" he said surprised. Suddenly, he looked back, a twitch dancing across his lips, hidden under the hair. "Al… Alright. Come in."
Harry, Black, and Ron exchanged glances.
Why did it feel like Hagrid didn't want them to come inside?
The moment Hagrid let them in, keeping a hold on the collar of an enormous black dog, the boys got to know the reason instantly.
Three girls were eying them down, sitting on chairs around a round table.
Ron's face went blank. Harry just wanted to turn around and walk out, but Hagrid was already closing the door. Black cocked his head left and right, and chuckled.
Darcie Malfoy, Daphne Greengrass, and Hermione Granger. Three Slytherin guests…
Hagrid came to stand between the boys and girls and felt small under the towering silence.
"Uh.. Cough!" he cleared his throat. "Make yerselve' at home. Darcie, Daphne, and Hermione… Brilliant girls, all of them! Cough! Harry, and…"
"This is Ron Weasley," Harry had to speak up. "Arlen Black."
"Another Weasley, eh?" said Hagrid, glancing at Ron's freckles. "I spent half me life chasin' yer twin brothers away from the forest. And Black yeh said?"
Black looked up at Hagrid, taking his eyes off Darcie's stare. "My parents are Squibs."
"Ah!" Hagrid nodded, his shoulders slackening with relief.
"My parents are Muggles," Hermione spoke up suddenly, finding the silence uncomfortable.
Black looked at the girl, who just seemed too happy to sit next to Darcie, and smiled. "Congratulations."
Harry and Ron couldn't hold it in and sniggered.
Ron elbowed Black, whispering, "Can you not trigger her anymore?"
Darcie put the teacup down on the table and stood up, following Daphne. Hermione, blushing heavily, stood up, too.
"We were just about to leave," Darcie told Hagrid. "Next weekend, perhaps?"
Hagrid clapped. "Anytime. Bring Hermione, too."
Black, Harry, and Ron moved aside, giving way to the girls.
When they had walked out of the door, Darcie suddenly stopped, turned around, and looked at them.
Ron's heart skipped a beat. Did Draco tell her what we said about her in the Common Room?
Harry was thinking the same, a redness surfacing on his cheeks. No matter what he thought about Darcie, she hadn't done anything to him. If she were to know the words from the Common Room, it just wouldn't feel right anymore.
Contrary to them, Black just took a step forward. "Yes?"
Her poisonous gaze fell entirely on the boy with a disheveled uniform. "See you on Thursday."
Then, under the stunned gazes of all, Darcie walked away, her gold-white hair dancing left and right against her black uniform.
Hagrid loomed over their heads. "What's on Thursday?!"
Ron gulped. "Hagrid… Is there a Magic to vanish Thursday this week?"
Sadly, for Harry, Ron, and Black, there was no such magic, nor would there ever be.
**************
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