HP: Hogwarts Snake

After the new term banquet, Harry was called to the headmaster's office, while Della, along with Theodore, her only remaining close advisor, went to Draco's bedroom, which Voldemort had arranged for her to be his "boss".

"Why did he come here?" Draco asked, pointing at Theodore as he entered the double room where he lived alone, his voice filled with dissatisfaction.

Theodore completely ignored Draco, and instead diligently moved a chair for Della to sit in the very center of the bedroom, making her the undisputed center of attention.

Della sat down, dusted off her robes, and explained businesslike, “I’m here to assist you as instructed by my father, and Theodore is my assistant. We’re both here to help you complete your mission, Draco.”

“I don’t need help!” Draco’s eyes widened, displaying near-madness in his resistance. “Everything’s going well now! And I’ll get the whole reward!”

“Then all the glory will return to the Malfoys,” Draco said, his voice lowering as if hypnotizing himself, “and I will get everything I want.”

He looked at Della, his madness replaced by love.

Faced with her verbal urges and her desire for love, Della frowned. Draco's lack of cooperation was secondary; the main problem was that he was currently too obsessive. He was eager to make a name for himself and seemed to have her, whom he couldn't have, as part of his goal. He probably wouldn't listen to her reasoning.

“Back at Hogsmeade before Christmas, a girl was rushed to the infirmary,” Theodore said suddenly, and Draco’s face paled even more. “Her condition was critical, and she looked quite gruesome.”

“That was just an accident!” Draco cried out in despair, momentarily overwhelmed.

Accident?

What does this unexpected event point to?

Was it a failure of the plan, or harm to the classmates?

Della's answer is more likely to be the latter, which means that Draco can no longer bear this.

“Tell me the specifics of the task first,” Della said softly, intending to take it one step at a time. “What kind of task has my father assigned you?”

Infected by Della's gentle tone, Draco calmed down a bit. He glanced reluctantly at Theodore beside him and began to introduce himself in a low voice.

“My master gave me the chance to reclaim my glory—to kill Dumbledore,” Draco’s high-pitched voice abruptly fell silent. He sighed almost imperceptibly, then rallied and continued, “Also, to cooperate with the Death Eaters’ plan to storm Hogwarts.”

Breaching Hogwarts?

Maggie didn't mention this news.

Della raised an eyebrow, realizing that the plan excluded Maggie, and that Voldemort's decision to let her know was probably one of his methods of checks and balances.

"How are your two plans progressing?" Despite her turbulent thoughts, Della didn't reveal a word and calmly guided Draco to continue.

“I’ve been working on the Vanishing Cabinet in the Room of Requirement,” Draco said first, then muttered, “As for assassinating Dumbledore, I’m also working on the next plan…”

“Why don’t we split up? We can each focus on one thing and accomplish Father’s mission more effectively,” Della suggested. “You continue repairing the Vanishing Cabinet, and I’ll take care of assassinating Dumbledore—”

As he spoke, Draco suddenly raised his head, his eyes showing a mixture of relief, reluctance, and a touch of self-pity.

Della noticed his change in mood and quickly added, "Of course, you are the person in charge of the plan, and I will consult you before taking action."

By adopting a humble stance, Draco was shown that he would not be excluded from this glorious yet terrifying mission, and the resistance on Draco's face visibly faded.

“This mission is difficult; you can’t do it alone. I can help with the operations…” Draco’s voice trailed off. “Don’t bear this alone, you can’t bear it alone… Della…”

"..." Della's eyes flickered, somewhat moved. Theodore next to her stood up immediately, interrupting the atmosphere he did not want to see.

“Excellent, then our tasks are divided!” Theodore, usually aloof, spoke loudly, stepping in front of Della to block any possible eye contact between the former lovers. “Is there any other information to share, Draco?”

Draco gave Theodore a disdainful look, almost standing up to push him over—something he would normally do—but with Della present, he wanted to maintain some semblance of elegance. After glaring at Theodore several times, he continued speaking.

"Potter has discovered some of the whereabouts of repairing the Vanishing Cabinet. Usually, Goyle and Crabbe will help me keep watch with Polyjuice Potion. The repair of the cabinet is going well so far. After Christmas, I have a plan."

As he spoke, Draco proudly raised his chin slightly, but Della was still blocked by Theodore, so he didn't get the admiring look he wanted. Although he could never get Della's admiration, he still blamed it on Theodore and glared at him again.

"As for Dumbledore, the last mission failed, so we can't use the Puppet Charm to send him cursed items for the time being," Draco revealed a detail, not elaborating on the heart-wrenching failure.

"And another thing, I had Rostar deliver a bottle of poisoned wine to Slughorn. Slughorn mentioned in class that he was going to give it to Dumbledore, but for some reason, he hasn't done so..."

“I understand,” Della patted Theodore’s hand, gesturing for him to sit down, and encouraged Draco, “You’ve really done a lot, Draco, and the information you provided has been very useful and helpful to my next steps.”

“Really?” Draco’s back relaxed a little, and he murmured, “I really did a lot of things…”

“Yes, you’ve really done a lot, Draco,” Della encouraged again, then she stood up and dusted off her robes. “Well, it’s getting late, I should go back.”

"Let's go?" Draco stood up in a panic, looking pitifully at Della. "Aren't we going to talk more? We haven't seen each other for a year and a half, we definitely have a lot to talk about!"

“It’s too late, Draco,” Della shook her head, not wanting Draco to become more entangled in her feelings, which were unlikely to be reciprocated, because of her soft-hearted ambiguity. “Get some rest.”

She avoided Draco's gaze, gave him a slight nod, and left with Theodore.