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    "WHO DID THIS TO YOU?", VICTORIA COLDLY QUESTIONED. the lot only glanced at each other while draco merely cleared his throat.

     "potter's group of friends", pansy croaked out.

"where are they right now?", victoria asked.

"they..they escaped from us....from umbridge's office...so we're not exactly sure", goyle meekly answered, not wanting to add more fuel to the already fuming girl.

victoria thought for a moment. if she had remembered correctly, over christmas break, lucius had informed her that the dark lord was going to lure the boy to the hall of prophecy.

     the girl debated whether she should aide the death eaters or not. perhaps she would join them later after grabbing her invisibility cloak.

     "rest well then, and I'll come visit later darling".

     victoria swiftly kissed the top of draco's forehead as she didn't even bid the rest goodbye.

     draco watched as the girl marched away, probably going to aide in his father's mission.

     victoria huffed as she hastily grabbed her invisibility cloak and called for her firebolt. the girl rushed towards the ministry of magic, leaving her firebolt in pius thicknesse's office, as the girl knew he was under the imperius curse due to yaxley (another death eater).

as victoria silently approached the hall of prophecy, it had taken her a while to make sure no sound was heard even though she was invisible at the moment.

the girl's breathing hitched as she witnessed the dark lord standing before dumbledore, with most of the death eaters gone and harry frozen on the ground.

"til we meet again...harry potter".

the ministry of magic officials who had been denying the dark lord's comeback—claiming that dumbledore and harry were just bluffing—had now truly seen voldemort in person.

with no more excuses, cornelius fudge had finally admitted the comeback of voldemort, who had swiftly escaped, leaving the ministry officials stunned.

     in the midst of all the confusion and worry, victoria simply glanced around, noticing that neither harry nor dumbledore was holding a crystal ball.

     'draco's father!'

     victoria worriedly glanced around as lucius was not seen. she had hoped that he had escaped along with the other death eaters, not that she really cared about him.

she was worried for draco's sake, as she believed that the boy dearly looked up to the man, something she cannot and will never relate to.

     without wasting another moment at the currently broken hall of prophecy, victoria swiftly headed back towards pius's office to grab her broom and head back to hogwarts.

     perhaps now, dumbledore would replace umbridge and continue as headmaster.

•♛•

victoria draped the invisibility cloak around herself as she tip-toed out in her satin black pajamas.

the girl had trouble sleeping, as she felt herself not being able to look past the events that had occurred earlier today.

unknowingly traveling towards the seventh floor of hogwarts, the girl had probably walked in circles three times before she had noticed a door that she had never seen before.

     "blimey! have I been blind all this time?", the girl whispered to herself as she opened to the door and slipped in, careful not to loudly disrupt the silence.

     victoria's eyes widened as she witnessed the copious mounts of junk that people have either hidden in here or left here just because.

from stinky socks to pearl necklaces that were hanging on the leg of a chair, it was truly like a treasure hunt if you thought about it.

however, a tall and wide mirror stood in the middle of the room, with a clawed feet and a golden frame. at the very top, a phrase was inscribed, making victoria inch closer as she squinted her eyes.

     "erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi?"

victoria's browns furrowed together as she dropped the invisibility cloak, seeing her own reflection for a split moment before it had entirely changed.

"d-draco!"

the girl immediately turned around, only to see that the boy was not there, making her even more confused.

staring back at the mirror, she slowly inched closer until she had stretched her arm out and successfully touched the mirror.

"what is it that you see?", a voice suddenly asked, making victoria immediately grab her wand and point it at the intruder.

     "p-professor d-dumbledore...I—"

     "the mirror of erised: shows the most desperate desire of a person's heart. it's known to have made men mad", dumbledore interrupted.

     "and I see you've snuck in with harry's invisibility cloak", dumbledore commented, glancing at the robe that had fallen to the floor.

"how'd you..."

     "ms. noir, I may be old and wrinkly, but I am no fool", dumbledore chuckled.

     "now tell me, what is it that you see in that mirror?", the old wizard asked once again.

     victoria glanced back at the mirror, slightly smiling to herself as she became entranced by the beauty of the scene in front of her.

     "I've become the master of death. that's what I see", the girl lied as she didn't even bother putting on her usual fake smile with dumbledore.

     "is that what you truly see?", dumbledore questioned, making the girl hesitate.

     "yes".

"I once too searched for them", dumbledore started, making the girl slightly surprised, as the man was a well-known wizard who excelled in magic, even making voldemort fear him.

"with...a friend of mine...", dumbledore sadly reminisced.

"was it grindlewald?", victoria asked, starting to become more interested.

dumbledore just let out a chuckle. "indeed. but power isn't everything", the man continued, making victoria scoff.

"you have the elder wand and harry's invisibility cloak. you can't tell me you didn't think about finding the resurrection stone and becoming the master of death yourself", victoria scowled.

     "ms. noir, I've gone through my whole life regretting certain choices that I've made just because I once desired that position. but I encourage you not to make the same mistakes as me, as you quite favor that malfoy boy don't you?"

     victoria slightly squinted her eyes in suspicion. "you know?"

     "there was a student with the same condition as you. it was nearly 50 years ago..."

     "you're talking about the dark lord", victoria replied, as that was one of the main reasons why she was such a competent death eater to voldemort.

the both of them...were conceived under the usage of amortentia.

"tom marvolo riddle was his name. a brilliant student he was. excelling at his studies, a prefect his fifth and sixth year, and head boy his seventh. no one would've thought that such a talented boy would become such a powerful dark wizard", dumbledore said.

"do you blame him though? with no father nor mother, it's no surprise he had turned out this way", victoria answered.

"he made a choice", dumbledore responded. "I agree, his circumstances might've been harsh, but you're not the same as him".

"I know what I'm doing. I don't need your pity advic—"

"victoria. you have an aptitude for history, just like you do nearly every subject, so you should realize that every time there's a war, victory is won by the good guys", dumbledore interrupted.

"professor, I'm afraid you're under the wrong impression. I could care less who wins, as I'm only following my mother's footsteps as a death eater".

     "but what about draco?"

     "what about him?", victoria asked, not sure where dumbledore was going with this.

     "his father's imprisoned in azkaban, which means he's next in line to become a death eater. you should know how cruel and unforgiving he is", dumbledore persuaded.

     "lucius...he's in azkaban...?"

     victoria bit her bottom lip as she worriedly fumbled her fingers. the last time she had failed a mission, voldemort nearly massacred everyone around him.

     "victoria, be the one who makes the right choice. if not for yourself, at least for the one you love—"

     "I CAN'T LOVE!", victoria frustratedly shouted, feeling a tear or two roll down her face as she clenched her fists.

     "tell that to the image you see in the mirror", dumbledore retorted as he had magically disappeared, leaving victoria alone with the tall piece of glass.

     the girl fell onto her knees as she gazed up, catching the smile of her and draco, holding each other as a young boy that was the epitome of handsome ran around them.

a family, a loving family was what the girl deeply desired. but not just any family.

a family with draco malfoy.

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