The Shadow Beneath the Lake
"What is it?" Harry asked as he walked back toward the castle beside Draco, who still had that thoughtful look on his face since they came out of the water.
Draco lifted his gaze for a moment. His confusion was clear, as if something was bothering him but he couldn't quite understand what it was.
"When I was in the lake, I saw something really strange… and I can't stop thinking about it," Draco said honestly.
"And what did you see?" Harry asked lightly.
"My father… or at least I think it was him," Draco replied, wearing the same confused expression, as if he himself realized how ridiculous that sounded, while at the same time frowning slightly.
Harry raised an eyebrow at that, mirroring Draco's confusion.
Then Draco explained what he had seen.
At the bottom of the Dark Lake, fish moved past like flashes of silver, while Draco glided through the water with complete ease thanks to his alchemical item. Something he was slightly proud of, since he believed he could easily be the first champion to find the chests.
He also seemed to be quite lucky, since he hadn't run into anything dangerous along the way, only stopping from time to time to search for clues that might lead him to what could be the merfolk's base.
Draco paused for a moment, stepping onto the lakebed, looking at what seemed to be the remains of old boats that students might have used in the past, but that had clearly seen better days.
He even crouched down, lightly examining the ground. He had studied merfolk physiology and their ideal environments thoroughly, to the point that he had spent nearly twenty hours a day for an entire week in the library.
And of course, it was only for that… not to spend time with someone else. Of course not.
Draco recalled what the merfolk habitat should be like, which was why he was studying the ground, since it would give him clues about how close he was to them.
But as he picked up some soil from the lakebed and pressed it between his fingers, he suddenly felt something like a shadow move behind him, so he turned around.
There was nothing there.
But a sudden feeling of being watched washed over him, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.
Draco looked in several directions, but the water didn't allow him to see very far. At a certain point, everything faded into blurred silhouettes. A chill ran down his spine.
He frowned slightly, still thinking it might just be his imagination, and continued forward, convinced he wasn't far from the merfolk habitat.
But after only a few meters, that same sensation returned. He stopped mid-water, turning back with a serious expression.
Carefully scanning the area, especially where he felt that gaze fixed on him through the dark waters of the lake.
Draco felt the urge to shout, to ask who was there, but obviously his voice wouldn't carry far. It might not even leave his mouth, only turning into bubbles instead of words.
Even so, he drew his wand as a precaution and pointed it toward where he felt something. With a flick of his wrist, a bright flash burst from the tip, illuminating everything in that direction.
As he moved forward, the light suddenly began to reveal something ahead. Something that blended into the water like some kind of aquatic chameleon, but at the same time, under the light, showed a slight inconsistency with its surroundings. Especially the faint movement it made.
And most of all, what stood out were two enormous eyes staring directly at Draco.
They blinked for a moment under the sudden light.
The instant Draco recognized a strange creature in the water, he reacted quickly. He swung his wand, and dozens of gold coins began to spill out of it, surrounding him in an instant.
Ready to use his magic.
But before he could do anything, the creature opened its eyes fully and released a faint glow straight into Draco's gaze.
And suddenly, he froze in place.
And when he realized it, his surroundings had changed.
Now he stood in what looked like a graveyard, surrounded by tombstones and a heavy, somber atmosphere. Draco looked around, unable to fully understand what was happening.
The darkness of the night fell over him, making the air feel even colder.
Suddenly, Draco felt something and turned on guard, pulling out his wand. But when he turned, what he saw were two shadowy figures, both moving slightly, while a distorted sound seemed to come from them.
"What…?" Draco asked as he watched the two shadows, which seemed to be trying to communicate.
"No… I can't understand you," Draco said to one of them, the one that seemed more eager to get his attention.
The shadow, as if genuinely annoyed, moved closer to him. Draco raised his wand, ready to attack, but instead, it pointed in a direction.
Draco looked at the shadow for a moment before turning around.
There, he saw a large tombstone, the most striking one in the entire graveyard. The kind that only someone with far too much money would have arranged in their will, as if even in death, their ego was greater than their own existence.
Almost like a castle meant for eternal rest.
As soon as he saw it, Draco seemed to recognize it instantly. Especially the name written in gold, still gleaming in the darkness.
Lucius Malfoy.
And the door of that coffin, shaped like a small castle, stood completely open. From within, a pitch-black hand slowly reached out, along with a pair of red eyes staring at him from the darkness.
"You've become a disappointment, just as I feared, Draco," a voice echoed across the graveyard. It was soft, yet it carried everywhere, like the whisper of a demon. "If my son is this disappointing… then he was never worth keeping alive." it continued, as the figure inside suddenly seemed ready to leap out.
But before it could, Draco snapped his wand forward, and a blinding flash burst into existence.
In an instant, Draco was back in the Dark Lake, his surroundings shifting as if an illusion had shattered under the light.
The creature, now right in front of his face, recoiled violently, shutting its eyes, clearly hurt by the sudden flash.
Draco opened his eyes, his expression turning sharp with anger. But deep within them, a trace of what he had just seen still lingered.
With a flick of his wand, the coins that had been floating around him suddenly transformed into small, razor-sharp spikes. They shot forward, piercing straight into the creature's body. A moment later, they shifted again from within, splitting into even more barbs that tore it apart from the inside, as green blood spread through the water.
Draco looked at the creature with disgust. Not just because of how it ended, but because of what it had shown him.
He went quiet for a moment, as if he were still seeing that scene in front of him.
Draco finished recounting everything, while Harry's expression grew slightly more serious.
"Maybe it was just an illusion that monster used to attack you," Harry said after thinking it through. "Something like a boggart, maybe."
"Yeah, I know, but… I still feel this irritation," Draco said, lowering his head slightly. "Tsk… maybe you're right. I'm probably overthinking it. Looks like I still can't get past it." And that was what bothered him the most.
"Did you tell Aunt Narcissa?" Harry asked.
"I was going to, but I think she's too busy to worry about some illusion from her horrible husband," Draco replied, shaking his head.
For a moment, he pulled out his most treasured photo, one that would have never existed if his father were still alive.
After talking a bit more, the two of them continued toward the Great Hall, already knowing that one of the usual celebration feasts for the champions would be waiting, something that had become common lately after every trial, where practically the entire school ended up joining in.
Even so… the feeling didn't completely fade.
Because deep down, Draco wasn't sure if what he saw… had truly been an illusion.