Aurora McFadden smiled up at Draco. Lately she had found that her heart pounded harder when he walked into the room, but he was too busy to notice a girl like her. She wished she could talk to someone, but Slytherins just didn’t talk about such things. Plus, what did she have to offer a Malfoy? She was a pure blood, but even Aria, her twin sister, didn’t understand what Power was, and why Muggles and Mudbloods did not belong in the wizarding world. Her family was not rich and her own father spent his life trying to arrest Death Eaters.

Why would Draco look at her? Draco was distracted and did not even see her as he hurried through the common room, recruiting Crabb and Goyle to guard that darned hallway again. What was so special about that hallway? Where did he spend all his time? She was determined to find out this time. She hurried up to her room where she had a bowl of pudding waiting, pudding that she had put a sleeping drought in. This should take care of the two buffoons. Maybe then I’ll be able to sneak into the hallway and figure out what Draco is doing every night.

She carried the bowl down and out of the common room. The three boys had a long enough head start that she would not be able to see which room on the corridor Draco entered, but she would be able to find Crabb and Goyle. The two boys were standing at the same end of the hallway when she found them, both appeared bored.

“I can’t believe he is making us just stand here again. What is he doing?” Goyle asked Crabb.

“I don’t know, but he rushed us out of dinner tonight, I’m still hungry,” Crabb complained.

Perfect! “Good evening boys. Could interest you in some pudding?” Aurora inquired, but she must have startled them because the next thing she knew the bowl was smashed into pieces on the floor and the pudding was splashed everywhere.

“So this is what I get for trying to be nice,” Aurora complained as she pulled out her wand and said, “Reparo,” and the pieces of the bowl were fixed, but the pudding remained everywhere.

“'It's not really that bad at all,” Crabb said as he stuck his finger in some of the pudding on the wall.

Her plan hadn’t worked because Mrs. Norris came around the corner right then quickly followed by Filch.
“My hallways! My floors! You’ll all pay for this with detention!” he exclaimed as he pushed the three of them back towards his office. “I’ll have to spend the night cleaning up that mess!”

A bit later Aurora sat in the Slytherin Common room again. Now she would have to think of some other way to find out what Draco was doing.