The moment Draco saw Jamie sitting there, the smug smile on his face collapsed as if someone had slapped it clean off. Crabbe and Goyle reacted even worse, both of them jolting in terror before ducking behind Draco, which was ridiculous considering they were both larger than he was.
Jamie looked them over from his bed with calm amusement. The dim green light from the lake drifted across his face, and his smile seemed even more unsettling in the underwater gloom.
"It seems we really do have a bit of fate between us," Jamie said. "For the next seven years, we'll all be living in the same dormitory."
"I… I'll write to my father," Draco said, his voice tight and shaky. "I'll ask him to have my room changed."
Jamie tilted his head slightly, as if the idea genuinely puzzled him. "No, no, that isn't what I meant. I'm not trying to drive you away."
Draco froze, clearly unsure whether that was supposed to comfort him. Crabbe and Goyle still hid behind him like frightened children, though their wide shoulders made the attempt almost useless.
"I don't know many people here," Jamie continued. "You three are familiar faces, and instead of sharing a dormitory with complete strangers, I'd rather live with people I already know."
"I…" Draco hesitated, his pale face stiff with conflict. If Jamie had wanted to chase them out, that would have been one thing, but being politely invited to stay somehow felt even worse.
"What?" Jamie's expression darkened on purpose. "You don't want to?"
Draco swallowed. Crabbe and Goyle went even paler, which was impressive, considering the green light already made everyone look half-dead.
"You should think carefully about the consequences of provoking me," Jamie said softly. "Do not forget that unless you transfer schools or leave Hogwarts entirely, we will be together for seven years."
The room seemed to grow colder around them. Even the lake water beyond the windows looked stiller than before, as if the Black Lake itself were listening.
"Of course," Jamie added, his voice still gentle, "even transferring might not help much. It would be rather unwise to offend a powerful wizard and then assume distance will protect you. If members of your family happened to meet with accidents while travelling, or died for reasons no one could properly explain…"
Draco looked as if he might cry. Crabbe and Goyle were already trembling, and despite their size, they were still only eleven-year-old boys who had just been told that their families might not be beyond reach.
"But that will not happen as long as you behave," Jamie said, letting the threat fade into something almost friendly. "Do not provoke me, and I will not act against you."
The three boys nodded quickly. Draco tried to keep some pride in his posture, but fear had already cracked it open.
"More than that, we will be living together for seven years," Jamie continued. "If you respect me, I can give you something far more useful than fear."
Draco raised his eyes despite himself. Crabbe and Goyle also peeked out from behind him, not understanding everything but recognising the promise of advantage.
"Dark magic," Jamie said, spreading his hands like a devil offering a bargain. "The Unforgivable Curses. The Cruciatus Curse, the Imperius Curse, and other magic that most people are too weak to face. Fiendfyre, curses, power that can make others kneel before you."
His voice was low and smooth, wrapping itself around their fear and turning it into temptation. "With enough power, wealth and status are not difficult to obtain. Influence, respect, revenge—these things follow strength."
Draco's breathing quickened. He had been raised in a family where blood, power, and reputation mattered more than almost anything, and even fear could not completely smother the desire Jamie had just stirred.
Crabbe and Goyle did not think as deeply. They only understood that Jamie was frightening, and that frightening people were usually safer to follow than to oppose.
"We…" Draco began, his voice unsteady. "Are we supposed to call you Master?"
Jamie's face twisted with disgust. Draco's father had once been a Death Eater under Voldemort, so Draco had heard certain things, and he knew that Voldemort's followers had called him by that title.
"What a filthy name," Jamie said coldly. "It is 1991. Throw that degrading rubbish into the dustbin of history where it belongs."
Draco flinched again, though Jamie did not raise his wand. Somehow, the contempt in his voice was enough.
"Remember this," Jamie said, stepping closer to the three of them. "I am not your master, and you are not my slaves. We are friends, so from now on, you may call me Jamie or use my surname."
"Yes," Draco said quickly. "Yes, of course."
Crabbe and Goyle nodded along at once. They still looked afraid of Jamie, but the terror was not quite as wild as before, now that he had given them a clear way to survive.
"Good," Jamie said, turning back toward his bed. "Everyone is tired tonight. Wash up and sleep early."
Draco finally exhaled when Jamie turned away. Then he glanced at Crabbe and Goyle, who were still half-hidden behind him despite being taller and broader than he was, and disgust flickered through his fear.
They were so big for nothing. In a real crisis, they had been as timid as field mice.
In the end, Draco said nothing. He washed quickly, changed into his nightclothes, and climbed into bed, while Crabbe and Goyle did the same with clumsy haste.
The three of them had been frightened badly enough to drain what little strength the feast and Sorting had left them. Before long, Draco was asleep, and Crabbe and Goyle followed with deep, ugly snores that filled the room like distant growling.
Jamie lay still for a while, listening. Once he was certain they would not wake easily, he opened his eyes and sat up without a sound.
He glanced at the three sleeping boys, then climbed out of bed and drew on a black wizarding cloak. The green light of the lake slid over the fabric as he fastened it, making him look almost like a shadow rising from the bottom of the water.
For him, the night's real adventure had only just begun. A dormitory full of frightened roommates was merely a small arrangement, not the reason he had been waiting for darkness.
On the other side of the castle, Tyler also waited until his roommates were asleep. Harry, Ron, Neville, and Seamus breathed heavily beneath their red curtains, all of them too exhausted by the day's chaos to notice him move.
Tyler slipped from his bed and left the dormitory quietly. He crossed the common room without disturbing the dying fire, then climbed out through the portrait hole into the corridor beyond.
"Oh," the Fat Lady grumbled from her frame, her voice thick with sleep. "It is very late. Where do you think you are going?"
Tyler gave her a polite smile but did not answer. Portraits might sleep, complain, gossip, and remember more than students expected, but he doubted the Fat Lady was truly surprised by a Gryffindor sneaking out at night.
After all, Gryffindor Tower had produced generations of reckless students. Even in the current school, Fred and George Weasley had probably slipped past her more times than anyone could count.
In a place like Hogwarts, a student's education almost felt incomplete without a midnight wander. The rules said students were not allowed to roam the castle after curfew, but rules only mattered if someone caught you.
And even if someone did catch you, the punishment was usually a loss of house points or detention. For students used to breaking rules, that kind of danger barely counted.
Tyler left the Gryffindor common room and headed for the eighth floor of the castle. He moved carefully through the dark corridors, listening for footsteps, portraits, or anything that sounded like Filch's cat prowling nearby.
When he reached the appointed place, Jamie was not there yet. Tyler waited in the shadows for quite a while before the familiar figure in a black cloak finally appeared at the end of the corridor.
"What took you so long?" Tyler asked in a low voice. "You have the Marauder's Map. You shouldn't have been delayed this badly."
Jamie gave him an irritated look. "Use your head. The Slytherin common room is down in the dungeons, and this is the eighth floor. I had half the castle to climb."
"Take out the Marauder's Map," Tyler said. "We need to know where the professors and Filch are."
"I already checked," Jamie said, though he still unfolded the parchment. "The professors are in their offices or quarters, Dumbledore is in the Headmaster's office, and Filch is patrolling the third floor. It will take him a while to reach this level."
The Marauder's Map had been given to them by the Weasley twins, though it had originally been created by Harry's father, James Potter, along with Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew. The four names hidden behind the map's makers were Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs.
Tiny ink lines spread across the parchment, marking corridors, rooms, and moving dots with their names written beside them. Tyler glanced over the Marauder's Map, then said...
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