The Girl Who Saw Tomorrow » Harry Potter

1.39 | A Deal with the Devil

A familiar voice rang in the silence of the night, hoarse with sleep yet alert in tone if not knowing.

"Looking for this?"

Margaret's heart jumped to her throat, her eyes shutting involuntarily as she froze in her kneeling position. Slowly tilting her head, she opened her eyes to meet the grey ones which were lighter than usual under the moonlight; before moving to the small book that he held, titled Toujours Pur: Le Terre.

Seeing his other hand inching towards his wand next to the pillow, Margaret shook her head with a pleading glance.

"Please don't," she whispers.

He paused, staring at her blankly before looking down at his opened bag. "One mustn't touch what isn't theirs, Xenakis."

She raised a brow, glancing at the book. "You're the one to talk."

Goyle let out another mighty snore, dragging both their attention towards him. Draco scowled and, in one swift movement, pushed away his blanket, grabbed his wand and got to his feet.

"Follow me," he commands as Margaret got up as well, closing the briefcase that was his school bag. Peeking out of the curtain and making sure Madam Pomfrey was still in her office, he made a move to slip out before Margaret stopped him.

"I thought you were injured?" she mocks slightly, looking at his bandaged calf. Draco glared at her, making her roll her eyes. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Put on your slippers, at least, the ground's cold."

He gave her an odd look that said 'are you serious?' She shrugged, brushing past him and out of the curtain.

Draco followed her out of the hospital wing quietly after having stuffed his pillow under the blanket and closing the curtains around his bed to make it look like he was sleeping. In the seventh-floor hallway just opposite the Prefects' bathroom, Margaret stood, tensed, as he came to stand next to her a good three feet away.

She smirked slightly to see him wearing slippers but pushed the humour to the back of her mind. This was not the time.

"I want it back, Draco," she says firmly, taken aback when he simply holds the book out to her. "W- Wait, what?"

Draco watched her from the corner of his eyes. "You said you wanted it. Then go ahead, take it."

"You're just going to... give it to me?" she questions suspiciously, shifting slightly away from the book so that it would not touch her.

"Honestly, Xenakis, make up your mind. Do you want it or not?"

"Of course, I- I do; it's just..."

"I mean, it is quite an interesting read," he says casually.

Her eyes snap up to his face, startled. She opened her mind to see if he was lying, finding out that he wasn't. So he could read it!

"Yeah, it is," she responds, masking her surprise. "That's why I want it."

"I don't blame you," he shrugs. "I mean, I would want my family tree back too-"

This time, Margaret could not hide her astonishment. He was still not lying.

"-but then again, I wouldn't be so irresponsible to hide it under a shelf in a place open to students. Granted, the Restricted Section is only open to sixth and-"

"What else did you read?" she interrupts accusingly. "Why would you when you can clearly see on the cover that it's written by a Xenakis hence it belongs to a Xenakis-"