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Chapter 8

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It was early morning, around 2 or 3 am. I'd just woken up with the sensation of a snake gliding over my sheets and the sound of hissing. It was not fun. Not being able to fall back asleep was even worse.

My year-mates were sleeping in their beds, sound asleep. Theo and Blaise were now sure that the nice guy persona I always wore was fake and treated me the way they would treat an upper year classmate. With a little more respect and without the overly familiar way of young peers.

I wasn't their little close friend that introduced them to alcohol. I was 'that' guy that sold shit in your room that was cool with the upper year students. I was the neighborhood drug dealer, and that made me dangerous.

Crabbe and Goyle treated me like they always did. They just went with the flow and did what I told them to do. Their fathers were the same way with mine. Their families owed my own quite a bit of money, and had, for several generations.

Yes, in the wizarding world, debt passed through generations. Another old and archaic law. Hermione was aghast when I told her. Debts that were signed in blood were magically binding contracts and could pass through generations. Horrid laws, these illogical wizards.

I finally gave up on sleeping and rolled out of bed. I went over to my trunk and took out a half a joint. I went to the bathroom and turned the hot water to full blast again and sat down to meditate. I took a couple of big hits and then set aside the joint roach and lighter.

I really concentrated on the energy as as I meditated. I practiced moving it around to different parts of my body. I thought that it might be a little bit mire energy than a month ago, but I wasn't sure. I Couldn't really tell how much was there to begin with. I didn't have as much control then as I do now.

I barely had enough control over the energy to make a little ball of glowing light in my hands last five seconds before it moved back to my center. I could make ethereal, plasma-looking white light shine from my hands for a couple of seconds too.

I tried something new tonight. After turning the energy into a ball, I threw it. I heard a whooshing sound. After opening my eyes, I noticed that the floor was a bright green color. The energy reappeared in my 'core' an instant after it left me.

I examined the floor closely. It looked like the color changing charm I had learned earlier today in Charms. I drew my wand from the pocket of my sleeping robes.

“Finite incantatum” The color disappeared.

“Pingo” The color reappeared It looked exactly the same.

So It was magic...

I kept my eyes opened as I drew forth the energy again. I shaped it into a ball and threw it at the wooden shower door on the far side of the fogged up room. There was a popping sound like a balloon as the door was obliterated. Little splinters of wood rained down from the ceiling.

Holy shit...

I stared at my hands in shock for a moment. My roommates would definitely hear that.

Drawing my wand I hurried to cast another spell.

“Repairo” The wooden fragments all floated back together to form into the door that had been destroyed.

My magic was dangerous.

“What the hell was that, Draco?” Nott's voice asked from behind me. “It woke me up.”

I waved away his concern and indignation. “It was nothing Theo, Just bad gas. Go back to sleep.” I shooed him away. “It won't happen again.”

He rubbed his eyes. “Alright then.” He turned around and went back to bed.

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“I'm telling you again, Higgs. No” I said again.

He pushed me backwards a little bit. “You'll give it to the other guys on the team, but just not me, huh?” The Slytherin team's seeker said and pushed me again.

“You better knock it off, Terrance.” I called him by his first name, as he was called by his older sister. He hated being called Terrance, as I had overheard as she berated him a few weeks ago at the start of term.

“Don't call me Terrance.” He pushed me for a third time.

“I told you, you have to buy it from a fifth year or above.” I rolled my eyes and informed him. “I'm not selling to younger years.”

Terrance had cornered me in my dorm room as I was skipping history of magic class. I'd skipped twice already and I hadn't been turned in, I found. Binns called roll, as they were splayed across his desk, but he didn't write down the absent either, as he had nothing to write on.

He grabbed me by the front of the robes and pulled me close to him. He had already hit puberty and towered over me by quite a few inches. He stuck his wand in my face. “I'm going to hex you into next week if you don't give me two bottles of that jack brand whiskey right now.”

“Alright man, You want it, you got it.”He released me and lowered his wand. I wasn't scared of a fourteen year old. I wasn't going to be shaken down by one either. “You asked for it, here it is”

I reached into my robe pocket and removed my space-expanded mole skin pouch. I reached in and pulled out a bottle. “Here you go.” I handed it over. “And another, Right?” Higgs smiled and put his wand back in his pocket as he reached for another bottle.

It smashed into pieces as it came down over his head. As few of the pieces cut a little into his forehead. He fell to his knees with a cry, stunned.

He was at the perfect level for my fist as it crashed into his face. He fell back onto his back and laid there for a few seconds, stunned. “You weak little bitch.”

I kicked him in his stomach as hard as I could. He vomited as he curled into a ball. He reached up and felt his head. I stood over him and waited for him to try and get back up.

I liked a good fight and had yet to actually have a kid with the balls to pick a fight with me, yet. But some Slytherins weren't cunning. They were just ambitious. I personally liked a good fight. The feeling of standing over your downed foe and knowing you kicked their ass always feels good. Losing on the other hand...

Terrance pulled his hand back from his head, looked at it, and burst into tears. There was blood covering his hand. It was a little cut, but Terrance was a pussy. “What are you crying about, Terrance?” I kicked him again. “Getting what you were asking for?” I kicked him again. “Or getting your ass kicked by a first year?”

Terrance started to crawl away on his hands and knees, sobbing like a baby. “Cry, you little pussy.” After I kicked him again he got to his feet and ran from my room.

“Get back here you little bitch!” I stuff the unbroken liquor bottle back into the mole-skin pouch before Shutting my door with a snicker.

“Dobby.” I called out.

He appeared with a pop.

“Yes, Master.”

“Clean this up, would you?” I waved my hand at the mess of broken glass, puke, and blood on the floor. “I need a shower.”

“Right away Master.” Dobby snapped his finger and the blood disappeared.

I stopped walking to the bathroom suddenly as an idea occurred to me..

Dobby snapped his fingers again and the puke disappeared.

“Wait Dobby, stop cleaning!” I shouted.

I sat on my ass next to the pile of broken glass. I looked over at Dobby. “Take a seat Dobby.” I patted the ground next to me. He scurried over.

“What can Dobby be doing for master?” I took a joint out of my pocket.

I looked at the joint for a long moment before looking at Dobby. I hit the joint and exhaled, quickly. I did it a couple of other times to really get my blaze going.

“Tell me Dobby.” I finally answered Dobby's question. “How do you do magic?”

“Dobby just wants it to happen, master.” Dobby shrugged.

Just make it happen.

I felt the energy.

It was easy to move the energy into my fingers.

Just make it happen.

I concentrated on the glass like I did in transfiguration class. I imagined it in my mind's eye. I imagined it disappearing.

Just make it happen.

And then I snapped my fingers.

There was another whooshing sound as I watched a bright flash. I blinked my eyes for an instant and the area in front of me was covered in smoke. I coughed and swatted at the smoke. It smelled of gunpowder mixed with rotten eggs.

After what felt like coughing my lungs out I finally wafted the smoke away from the glass. The glass was gone.

Success!

I felt for the energy again. Over half was gone.

Holy shit.

I really did it.

We don't learn the vanishing charm until third year... I just did it wandlessly. Sure there was some nasty smoke involved, but that wasn't what was important.

I did it!

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Faulkner Botwin always sat alone. He was the odd one out of the four years. He always sat alone. He was Rudolf the red nose reindeer without Santa asking for him to guide the sleigh. He was the ugly duckling. He had no friends in other houses because he was a Slytherin. And he had no friends inside it because his peers were all racists.

Faulkner Botwin was a halfblood.

All of his year-mates were purebloods, and they did their best to humiliate him. They succeeded at it. They stole his robes just last weekend and threw them in the black lake. He had gone outside in the fall chill, dressed only in his winter cloak and underwear to retrieve them.

I took notice after that kind of pranking happened over and over. They knocked him as low on the scale of social standing as they could. The fourth years were all quite cruel.

I took a seat in the common room where in the corner where Faulkner did his homework in relative peace. He was having trouble concentrating as a huddle of fourth year boys and a couple of girls kept looking over at him as a group before snickering and huddling together to whisper quietly.

Faulkner kept his nose to the grindstone and gritted his teeth through the humiliation and buried himself in his education. He was the top student of his year.

I could tell they were planning something, and so could Faulkner. “I can help you with them.” I stated with a nonchalant voice. “I could make them stop.”

Faulkner looked up from his homework. “Leave me alone kid, I'm trying to write an essay.” He looked back down.

“Dude, you know I the guy that the upper years buy their liquor from, don't you?” Faulkner's head shot up in surprise. Apparently, he didn't know that. Even he had noticed the upper years were often drunk. I believe all the other students in Slytherin knew that by now.

16 year old drunks were loud, belligerent, and ruder than normal. That made them easy to spot, as did the smell of alcohol on their breathes when you are close to them.

“I really can make it stop.” I said as I nodded my head at the huddle of students. “All the pranks.” I looked in Faulkner's eyes “All the humiliation.”

“I can make Higgs come begging on his knees, for your forgiveness.” I buffed my nails on my shirt. “I can do it permanently, and I can do it tonight.”

“How?” I had his attention now.

“Thats the wrong question. What you you need to ask is for how much?”

“How much?” I definitely had his attention.

“I want three favors.” I said slowly.

Faulkner was now suspicious. “What kind of favors?” He frowned.

I smiled. “Nothing hard. Number one, I want you to tutor my girlfriend and I three on Monday, Wednesday, And Friday evenings after dinner.” I ticked off a finger. “Does that sound fine with you?”

Faulkner nodded. “What else?” He asked.

“Number two, You sell things for me.” I ticked off another finger.

Faulkner frowned and looked unsure. “Just things that are legal.” He replied.

I smiled at him with my usual charm. “Of course.” I said. “Only what you feel comfortable selling. hangover cures, potions ingredients, and the like.”

“Number three,” I ticked off the last finger and balled my fist up. “You get to lead a group of younger year students for me.”

Faulkner looked like a deer caught in the headlights. “I can't do that.” He gasped.

“Sure you can.” I disagreed with a sly grin. “They beat you up all the time.” I nodded to the group huddled together. “There are plenty of groups like that in this school just waiting to jump on lone Slytherins”

“We Slytherins have to stick together for safety.” I implored the boy. “We need a leader to help the younger years band together.” I glanced at the group of whispering forth years. “You can't put aside your shyness to help a bunch of younger year students and help yourself out of the quagmire you find yourself in?”

“Can you really help me?” Faulkner asked quietly. “can you really make them stop?”

“If you sign this with a blood-quill.” I slapped a piece of paper with the magical contract laid out.

“Let me read it.” Faulkner said suspiciously.

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I, Faulkner Robert Botwin Pledge on my life and magic to do three favors for Draco Scorpius Malfoy.

These three favors are,

Tutoring Draco Scorpius Malfoy and Hermione Jean Granger In Charms, Potions, History of Magic, Transfiguration, Astronomy, Herbology, and Defense Against the Dark Arts every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Selling various items, legal according to the Ministry of Magic, for Draco Scorpius Malfoy.

Leading a group of younger years, under the orders of Draco Scorpius Malfoy.

In return, I, Draco Scorpius Malfoy pledge on my life and magic, will within two nights from the signing of the contract, do one favor for Faulkner Robert Botwin.

The favor is : Stopping the bullying campaign against Faulkner Robert Botwin from his fellow fourth years Slytherin classmates.

Signed,

Draco Scorpius Malfoy

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“Sign under my name and the contract is sealed” I held out a quill for Faulkner to take. “You don't need ink to sign with a blood quill. It will write with your own blood.”

Faulkner licked his lips and looked over at the group of giggling teenagers. “You said you could do it tonight.” He didn't move to take the quill.

I need to make sure that my tactic of making them stop bullying you works and see if I have to try another tactic. That could take up to Two days. I even made sure its all legal items you sell, see.”I pointed to the part of the contract about selling items.

“You can keep living in fear...” I looked Faulkner in the eyes.”Or you can become a leader.”

Faulkner took the quill. “How do I know that I can trust you?” He asked.

“When you sign in blood, its a magically binding contract. You can't betray it without a very painful death. Don't you remember learning that in history class?” I nodded back down to the contract. “Sign it and you can become a leader. You can be popular. Girls will flock to you.”

I dropped my voice to a whisper. “Or are you a coward?”

Faulkner signed the contract. The 'ink' was shiny and red. Falkner hissed as his named was carved into the back of his hand. He rubbed it and looked up at me. “Thats it?” He asked. I took the contract without a word and rolled it up.

“Two things, First, you follow my orders from now on. Its in the contract.” I gave a chuckle. “Second, Alcohol is legal according to the Ministry of Magic. Now” I smiled. “Thats it. I'll see you tomorrow after dinner in the library for that tutoring session.”

I started to turn around before I stopped. “A few more things actually.”

“First order is not to harm me of hinder me in any way.” Faulkner's eyes were wide and wild as his situation was sinking in. He shook with shock, fury, and fear.

“Second order, Don't tell anyone about this contract. Do not speak of it. Do no tell anyone dead or living. Do not write, indite, stamp stain, cut, carve, hue, mark, or engrave any mark, figure, letter, or character that may become legible or intelligible, to yourself or another, whereby my secrets may become discovered. Your enslavement is a secret of mine.”

“Third order is to meet me in my dorm-room in ten minutes. I'll have a list of orders for you.”

I walked away.

I rubbed my hands together with glee. I laughed madly on my way to the the seventh year boy's dorm room. All of the boys and half the girls in the the year looked at me as I entered the room. They were all a little tipsy. They were passing around a bottle of brandy.

“Five galleons and a case of beers for each of you.” I pulled out my mole-skin pouch. “As promised.” They all cheered.

“Do it tonight. Make sure they know your serious. Strip them naked. Throw a few nasty hexes, threaten to break bones.” I gave Terrance Higgs' cute sister a wink. “I want them pissing themselves in fear.”

“You know what to do.”

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I was escorting Hermione to her dorm before curfew. We walked slowly, hand in hand.

Hermione gave a shy smile to me. “How did you get us a tutor?” She asked suddenly.

I smiled back. “Oh, I have my ways.”

“I can't believe you got one of the top students to tutor us.” She whispered. “Thank you, again.”

“It must have cost you a lot.” She said quietly.

“Nah. It was nothing. Really.” I assured her. “It was really easy.”

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