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Draco was not particularly fond of being a member of the Inquisitorial Squad. Not that he would ever admit it out loud, but frankly, he found the whole thing to be a load of dung. Of course, there was certain fun in docking off points as he pleased, but working under the old toad was trying. And embarrassing. The way she giggled like a school girl and the way her eyes positively bulged at the faintest whiff of giving punishments to students were nauseating and annoying. But he had to cooperate, if only to avoid facing his father’s displeasure. Not an easy thing to do when he felt the need to hex her every few seconds.
Right then, he watched, intrigued, as Umbridge questioned Potter. Draco was sure that there was an interesting story there, but he also knew that Potter would rather die than confess. He tried not to look bored as Potter refuted every single question. Really, even Umbridge should have known how stubborn Potter was. It was a prominent character of his. No particularly attractive, but useful in situations such as this. He could feel the other members of the Squad starting to get fidgety and annoyed. The Slytherins had planned a party, right down to the colour scheme and dragging meddling Gryffindors, while fun, was a rude interruption when they were clearly not about to find anything interesting.
“Draco,” snapped Umbridge, glaring at Potter,”Fetch Professor Snape.”
Draco forced himself not to roll his eyes as he stepped out of the room. He had a feeling that Severus would probably hate being dragged away from his rooms at Umbridge’s whim. He mentally shrugged; it was not his fault.
The disgusted sneer that came over the Potion Master’s face when Draco delivered the message confirmed his thoughts. Draco led the way to Umbridge’s office and held the door open for him, the least he could do as an apology. He went back to leaning against the wall and staring at Potter as Umbridge demanded Veritaserum.
Potter was quite obviously up to something big. He usually was, it was not exactly a novel thing, but this time he seemed to be a little too pale. Draco narrowed his eyes as he looked at the messy haired Gryffindor carefully. The boy was fidgeting in the chair, nails digging into the arm of the chair painfully. That was almost normal, seeing as he was probably the most hyperactive male Draco had ever known. But the expression on his face seemed stricken. It almost hurt Draco to see him so...scared. Not because of Umbridge (Potter was better than that), but because something else had happened, something that had led him to act more reckless than ever before. Draco wasn’t sure why he was bothered, but he felt the need to know what happened. Or, was happening. He probably had a Muggle’s chance at playing Quidditch to ever know about it, but that didn’t stop him from being curious.
“He’s got Padfoot.” Said Potter suddenly, looking at Severus, “He’s got Padfoot at the place where it’s hidden.”
Severus’s face was blank, almost carefully expressionless. Draco knew that look and it didn’t really bode well with the feeling he had that something big was happening. He glanced at Potter again, ignoring the others in the room. He looked lost, almost depressed. But that expression was gone as Umbridge started rambling, her voice taking on that annoying, girlish tone. Draco was surprised that Potter had not done anything yet, but then he remembered that his wand was with him. He turned to look at Umbridge and blinked as he heard what she was saying.
“The Cruciatus Curse ought to loosen your tongue.” She said, her voice eerily quiet.
Draco sucked in a harsh breath. He could feel the nervousness exuding from the other Slytherins. They had all been...exposed to that particular curse, one way or the other. Even though Slytherins were shown in a dark light, none of them were actually Dark. Using an Unforgivable as a punishment spoke volumes about the toad. Draco wondered fleetingly if any of this would have happened if Dumbledore had been there. Probably not, he decided. The old man had an uncanny ability and timing and would have stopped Umbridge before now.
“...only you wriggled out of that one, didn’t you Potter?” Umbridge was saying, “Not today though, not now.” And taking a deep breath, she cried out,”Crucio!”
The next few moments passed in a dreamlike manner. As the curse hit Potter, he fell to the ground, writhing. He didn’t let out a sound even though the harsh breaths indicated the amount of pain he was in.
“Tell me, boy.” Ordered Umbridge, an ugly smile on her face, “Tell me what you were doing and you’ll not have to suffer this. Tell me.”
But Potter, the fool, shook his head, fighting even then. Draco felt something tugging at his guts as he watched, rooted to the spot.
“Crucio.” Whispered the witch, scowling at Potter’s writhing form. This time, Potter’s resolve broke. He let out a scream, so loud, so painful, that it would be a surprise if the whole Castle didn’t hear it. Potter’s friends seemed too shocked to move and the Slytherins were equally stunned. No one had expected the woman to actually use an Unforgivable.
Something broke inside Draco as he heard the horrifying scream coming from Potter. He took in a shaky breath and drew out his wand, feeling strong for once.
“Stupefy.” He shouted, the spell hitting its target squarely.
Umbridge froze and fell down, her head hitting the floor, the scowl set on her face.
There was a stunned silence that seemed to stretch for a long while. Draco was not sure if what he did was completely justified or sane. He turned to look at Potter.
Potter was staring at him, green eyes wide and mouth open. He rose up slowly, almost as if he were scared that moving too fast might break the moment. Draco knew then, as he watched him straightening his robes, hands shaking, that what he had done was justified, even if not for a very sane reason.
“You saved me.” Said Potter, at last regaining his senses. Though how he seemed collected after being hit by the Unforgivable twice, Draco didn’t know.
“Hardly,” snapped Draco, sneering at him,”You’re just lucky you didn’t get yourself killed. Your plan had gaping holes from the start. You should have known by now that the toad is raving mad.” He didn’t know why he had helped Potter, nor did he know why he was scolding him as if he cared.
Maybe because you do.
He promptly killed that thought, not eager to think on it right then. The whole thing was complicated enough as it was.
“Thank you.” Said Potter, unexpectedly. Draco blinked as he searched the green eyes for any sign of mockery, but the gratitude seemed genuine enough.
He nodded once at him, turned around, and left the room. The others had started moving, probably realizing that they were free to escape. The Slytherins would probably nag him with questions, but right then, all he wanted to do was go to bed and muse over his most recent discovery.
Caring for Potter. Now, there was a mystery he was simultaneously eager and terrified to solve.
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