The Secret Horcrux by accio_firebolt
Chapter Notes: Things start picking up in this chapter, and some questions are answered. Please read and tell me what you think! And thanks to JK Rowling for the awesome books!
The dark dungeon was filled with an empty silence that deafened Draco Malfoy’s ears. The usual drop in temperature upon arrival was nothing compared to the cold feeling of dread that had suddenly washed over him. Draco took a deep breath and looked up at his father. He was hoping for a sign of comfort, but it didn’t come. Instead, Lucius Malfoy’s piercing blue eyes stared back at his own disbelieving gray ones. “Father…” Draco pleaded. “Pansy and I…no I mean…Iris and I…I can’t do this to either of them. Can we just forget “-”
Lucius cut him off sharply with a wave of his hand. He studied Draco intently through scrutinizing eyes for a few moments. When he finally spoke, it was in a cold voice that sent chills up Draco’s spine. “Are you telling me, Draco, that you are ruining your father’s last chance to redeem himself in front of the Dark Lord, just for Iris Borgin?” He spat the last few words out and unrolled his sleeves with such force that Draco thought his sleeve would rip. Lucius thrusted his bare arm out, and through the light of a tiny window in the dungeon, Draco saw the outline of the Dark Mark on his father’s arm. He gasped as he realized it was much darker than the last time he had seen it.
“Do you see now?” Lucius hissed. “The Dark Lord is growing stronger each day, and when he returns, he will not be pleased that I didn’t go looking for him these past few years. My only hope for redemption is to find his missing Horcrux and present it to him as token of my loyalty, and beg for his mercy. And you, Draco, are going to help me.”
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Draco Malfoy awoke with a start. He rubbed his eyes feverishly and told himself that it was just a bad dream. But a glance towards Pansy Parkinson sitting next to him told him that it was all real. He had fallen asleep in Potions class again.
At the beginning of the term, his father had asked him to help find a locket that belonged to the Dark Lord, and even before him, belonged to Salazar Slytherin. According to Lucius, the locket contained a part of the Dark Lord’s soul, and was called a “Horcrux”. Draco didn’t really understand what that meant, but he would have been happy to help if it didn’t involve dating Pansy Parkinson. Unfortunately, it did. Draco had heard from his father that Pansy’s mother may have had something to do with the Dark Lord’s Horcrux, and that Pansy may be able to provide some possible explanations. His job was to sidle up to Pansy and find out as much as he could about her mother and maybe the Horcrux as well, but the task was definitely harder said than done.
Oh, the part about getting Pansy to date him wasn’t hard, of course. Pansy had always liked Draco, and now she clung to him everywhere they went and kept up non-stop chatter about the Yule Ball and what they would wear to it. Whenever Pansy asked him to help her pick out a dress to wear, he secretly thought of Iris Borgin, the only girl in his heart, and how he would give anything in the world to go to the ball with her instead.
Pansy was chatting away happily to Millicent Bulstrode about the Yule Ball again. It seems to be the only thing on girls’ minds nowadays, thought Draco. He snuck at look at Iris who was sitting in the row next to his, then quickly turned back when he realized she was looking at him too. He forced himself to join Pansy in the Yule Ball conversation. After all, the ball was to be held tonight, and he still didn’t know what Pansy wanted him to wear.
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A group of girls giggled wildly in the Ravenclaw common room, modeling their dresses for their friends and helping each other with their makeup. The only girl who wasn’t apart of the chaos was Iris. She ran a comb through her hair absent-mindedly and looked at her reflection in the mirror. A pretty girl wearing a royal blue dress stared back at her. The girl’s hair was in an elegant bun and was held in place by a white tulip. Draco’s favorite, she thought before she could resist. She pulled the tulip out angrily and reminded herself again that she was going to the ball with Anthony Goldstein, and not Draco Malfoy. Anthony had asked her earlier that day and she had agreed because, as her friend Danna kept telling her, Draco was not going to ask her, and Anthony was a perfectly nice guy who had fancied her since the beginning of the year. I might as well enjoy myself, she thought bitterly. Maybe Draco wasn’t worth my time anyways. In fact, I’m not quite sure I still like him…
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“Who was I kidding?” muttered Iris to herself later that night at the ball. Although her date Anthony was dressed very nicely in robes of deep brown and kept offering to get her drinks, he was still no match for Draco. “My feet are killing me,” she lied. “Can we sit this one out?”
She led the way to the tables and sat down. “Can I get you anything to drink? Butterbeer?” asked Anthony.
“Yeah, thank you.” She replied. Anything for a moment alone.
Anthony hurried off, looking pleased with himself.
Iris kicked off her shoes and watched her friends waltz happily around on the dance floor. Danna was dancing with Terry Boot, who constantly stepped on her feet, but Danna looked very happy to be with him nonetheless. Padma Patil and her twin were chatting with some boys from Beauxbatons at a table nearby. Hermione Granger, Iris’s best friend in Gryffindor, was wearing the blue dress that Iris had picked out for her and was dancing away happily with the Durmstrang champion, Viktor Krum. Krum seemed to be enjoying himself, and didn’t even seem to mind when a girl in a frilly pink dress bumped into him by accident. Iris watched in horror as the girl’s date turned around to apologize. It was Draco. And his date, the girl in the pink dress, was Pansy Parkinson.
Iris got up abruptly, knocking her chair aside. She didn’t need to be sitting here, watching Draco and his new girlfriend. Maybe she could go to bed early and just forget about everything. Anything was better than just sitting here. She picked up her shoes and ran, as fast as her bare feet could carry her, towards the nearest exit.
Iris wasn’t the only one having a bad time at the ball. Draco was sick of Pansy’s death-like grip on his arm and as The Weird Sister’s song “Flying Back To You” ended, he excused himself and headed for the nearest table.
The two collided head on; Iris hurrying towards the exit and Draco dashing to a table. They sat sprawled on the floor, staring at each other for what seemed like an eternity. Then Iris, coming to her senses, promptly stood up and turned to leave.
“Wait!” said Draco, instinctively grabbing her arm.
Iris tried to pull away, but Draco’s grip was firm. Angry tears spilled out of her eyes as she reached for the wand tucked into her dress, her mind full of hexes. Draco seized her other hand as well and hastily dragged her to a corner.
Hidden away from the bright lights and the rest of the crowd, Draco seized Iris and pulled her into a tight embrace. “What are you doing?” sobbed Iris into Draco’s shoulder.
“Iris, listen…I’m sorry. I can’t be involved with you any more…we’ve got to stop seeing each other.” Draco let his arms fall to his side and shifted his eyes to his feet.
Iris stopped crying. She looked at him in disbelief.
“I have to be with Pansy now. You and I…we were never meant to be. I think this would be good for both of us.” He said it firmly, but Iris was not fooled.
“You’re lying,” She said quietly. “You wouldn’t be here if you were telling the truth.”
Draco opened his mouth to lie again, but shut it when he saw the hard, blazing look in Iris’s eyes. He knew he couldn’t fool her. They knew each other too well.
“Why?” she asked. It was such a simple question, but Draco didn’t know how to answer.
“My father…” he finally replied. “I’m on a mission to help him find something. And Pansy…she has the information I need…” he looked at Iris helplessly, hoping she would understand.
“What are you looking for? Maybe I can help“”
He cut her off. “This is between my father and I. I don’t want anyone else involved…besides what I’m looking for concerns serious Dark Magic, and a girl like you wouldn’t know anything about“ “ He suddenly stopped in mid-sentence. A light bulb went off in his head.
“Say…maybe you CAN help me…”