After his encounter, Draco had gone to McGonagall to confirm the presence of some type of creature in the school, something that wasn't affected by certain types of spells, and the Heads of Houses were brought into a meeting to discuss what they ought to do about it. It couldn't be detected, not by any means they'd attempted, and only his unusually-vehement insistence and the cracked floor boards and claw marks in the library convinced the other professors he hadn't simply dreamed it all. But in the end, they made no announcement, only pledging to stay vigilant, and he'd been forced to settle for that.
The murder, or simply the death, in Hogsmeade changed all of that. While the Heads of House came up with ways to keep the grounds secure and the students safe, Draco investigated on his own. The paralysis of the victim had been the confirmation Draco had needed, he was certain it was the same creature he'd encountered, which was worrisome given that Hogwarts was meant to be impenetrable. The Vanishing Cabinet was gone, burnt to ash by Fiendfyre years ago, and the secret passages had been stopped up and collapsed during the Second Wizarding War as well, but it was getting back and forth somehow.
The creature hadn't had a human level of intelligence but it had certainly had a target in mind when it had come after Draco, and why would it have gone after that particular wizard? He began with the boy's friends, then the people who had known him less well, and eventually he came to Jackson, slumped in a desk in his classroom, almost identical to their conversation about Voldemort right down to the indifferent glare, but there wasn't quite the same fire behind it today.
Draco leaned on his desk and waited a few moments, considering him. "Can't sleep?"
no subject
The murder, or simply the death, in Hogsmeade changed all of that. While the Heads of House came up with ways to keep the grounds secure and the students safe, Draco investigated on his own. The paralysis of the victim had been the confirmation Draco had needed, he was certain it was the same creature he'd encountered, which was worrisome given that Hogwarts was meant to be impenetrable. The Vanishing Cabinet was gone, burnt to ash by Fiendfyre years ago, and the secret passages had been stopped up and collapsed during the Second Wizarding War as well, but it was getting back and forth somehow.
The creature hadn't had a human level of intelligence but it had certainly had a target in mind when it had come after Draco, and why would it have gone after that particular wizard? He began with the boy's friends, then the people who had known him less well, and eventually he came to Jackson, slumped in a desk in his classroom, almost identical to their conversation about Voldemort right down to the indifferent glare, but there wasn't quite the same fire behind it today.
Draco leaned on his desk and waited a few moments, considering him. "Can't sleep?"