HP and Godric's Vault - Chapter - 45 (Patreon)

Hogwarts had long been a place where the unspoken rules were as strong as any spell cast. House loyalties ran deep, especially among the older students, and friendships outside of one’s own house were often met with suspicion or outright disapproval. In Slytherin, this sentiment was especially intense, where pride in one’s house and its traditions was almost sacred.

So, when a handful of first-year students—brave Gryffindors, clever Ravenclaws, loyal Hufflepuffs, and ambitious Slytherins—started mingling, disregarding the longstanding rivalries, it didn’t go unnoticed. Some students saw this as a refreshing change, but others viewed it as a breach of tradition, even a betrayal.

The issue was most contentious in the Slytherin common room. There, the older students prided themselves on the house’s long-standing legacy, one steeped in ambition, exclusivity, and power. They took the mingling of the first years as a slight to their pride and a violation of Slytherin's identity. For generations, Slytherins had aligned themselves closely, seeing other houses as competition. To the upper-year students, this mingling felt like a risk to their carefully cultivated sense of loyalty and unity.

Whispers filled the Slytherin common room as a group of older students watched with narrowed eyes whenever one of their younger housemates was seen talking or laughing with someone from another house. Among them was Marcus Flint, a sixth-year with a reputation for upholding house pride. “It’s only a matter of time before they’re influenced by those other houses,” he grumbled to his friends. “We’ll lose our edge if our own can’t even respect our traditions.”

Some of the more open-minded Slytherins—Adrian Pucey among them—felt differently. To him, the strength of Slytherin lay not in isolating themselves but in understanding and, when necessary, working with others. But even Adrian knew better than to voice these thoughts too openly; he could feel the growing tension each time he entered the common room.

As the days went on, the divide grew. Whispers turned to glares, and some of the older Slytherins began quietly confronting first-years who were seen mingling with students from other houses, warning them that true loyalty to Slytherin meant staying among their own. But the younger students, like Millicent Bulstrode and David Moore, were caught between their curiosity about the other houses and the pressure from their older peers.

Draco Malfoy had always carried a sense of pride in his Slytherin heritage, reinforced by his father, Lucius Malfoy. His father’s stories of Slytherin’s prestigious legacy and the supremacy of pureblood wizarding families had given Draco a clear picture of how Hogwarts was supposed to work. The school wasn’t a place for making friends with rivals from other houses. Instead, each house should stand firm and uphold its unique values—especially Slytherin. And to Draco, these values meant power, cunning, and pure-blooded traditions.

So when Draco saw his fellow first-year Slytherins—Theodore Nott, Blaise Zabini, Tracey Davis, and Daphne Greengrass—mingling with Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs, and even some Griffindors as part of a students club called the "Order of the Stars," he felt nothing short of betrayal. This group seemed to openly disregard house loyalties and rivalries that had been entrenched for centuries. Worse, they were growing closer as friends, sharing secrets and exploring the castle together, in a way that went against everything Draco had been taught. To him, this kind of inter-house camaraderie was reckless and dangerous, as it threatened to break down the distinctions that made Slytherin superior.

But while Draco’s other housemates might shake their heads or cast judgmental glances at the “traitors,” Draco wasn’t satisfied with just disapproval. If there was one thing he was sure of, it was that these friendships needed to be stopped. The unity of Slytherin had to be upheld. So he took it upon himself to act as the “eyes and ears” of the older Slytherins, a self-proclaimed spy on behalf of his house’s traditional values. In his mind, he was doing something noble: protecting the house from disloyalty and betrayal, and preserving the principles his father had instilled in him.

Draco decided to shadow the Order of the Stars members whenever he could, hoping to catch them breaking rules or engaging in suspicious activities. He followed them between classes, lurking in the shadows, or hiding behind suits of armor and columns as they walked through Hogwarts’ winding corridors. He noted where they went, who they spoke to, and any hushed conversations he could overhear. And whenever he caught a glimpse of them laughing or sharing whispered secrets, his sense of purpose intensified. It was maddening to think they were forming alliances with other houses—especially Gryffindors, the very house his father despised.

One afternoon, Draco’s persistence seemed to pay off. He was lingering behind a tapestry near the Astronomy Tower when he overheard Theo and Blaise discussing “something big” they had discovered in a meeting with the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs. Draco’s heart raced as he strained to hear more, but they were careful, their voices low and guarded. While he couldn’t catch the full details, he caught enough to realize they might be onto something forbidden. What could they be hiding? Forbidden spells? Dark artifacts? Or some powerful magic that they didn’t want to share with the rest of Slytherin?

The idea of them keeping secrets from the house filled him with both anger and a burning curiosity. To Draco, this was evidence that the Order of the Stars was not just a harmless club—it was a subversive group, potentially up to something dangerous. They were withholding information from their own house, and that was intolerable. Armed with this knowledge, he knew he had to report it.

Draco went straight to the older Slytherins in the common room that evening, pulling aside students like Marcus Flint and some of the sixth and seventh-year prefects. He carefully spun the details he’d gathered, emphasizing the secrecy and the inter-house collaboration he’d observed. He told them how Theo, Blaise, Tracey, and Daphne seemed to be hiding important discoveries, even conspiring with Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs. His warnings stirred the older Slytherins, who had no tolerance for what they saw as betrayal from within.

But even with their backing, Draco wasn’t done. He intensified his spying, convinced that he was close to uncovering something explosive. He started trailing them during meal times, catching snippets of conversations and watching their expressions as they spoke. When he noticed Theo or Blaise slipping off toward the clubroom where the Order of the Stars held their meetings, he followed quietly, always stopping short of the door but listening intently.

Yet, to his frustration, the Order members seemed aware they might be watched. Their conversations were vague, with hints and careful phrases that drove Draco to the edge of impatience. He heard snippets about “secrets of Stone,” “Hagrid's foolishness,” and mentions of Hagrid the oaf that only made him more determined to break into their group.

Yet, as he watched the members of the Order of the Stars working together, he began to realize just how much his own first-year housemates had bonded with others. Theo and Blaise seemed genuinely at ease around Gryffindors like Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom, and Hufflepuffs like Susan Bones and Hannah Abbott. They weren’t keeping secrets just from Slytherin—they were sharing experiences, learning, and discovering Hogwarts together in a way that Draco had never felt with Crabbe or Goyle. This made him all the more bitter and resolved.

Draco’s surveillance continued, his focus undeterred. He would be the one to tear down this reckless unity, protect the house, and remind his peers where their loyalties truly belonged. It was only a matter of time before he would find the evidence he needed. And when he did, he would make sure the Order of the Stars faced the consequences.

Draco’s suspicions reached a fever pitch when he overheard snippets about Hagrid during one of his eavesdropping sessions. From what he could gather, the Order of the Stars members had been having meetings with the Hogwarts groundskeeper, Hagrid—a half-giant whom Draco’s father considered a disgrace to wizardkind. And the way the club members spoke of these meetings with Hagrid, almost as if he were a close friend or ally, only deepened Draco’s outrage.

It was more than just mingling with other houses; they were consorting with a half-giant who was, by all accounts, far from respectable. In Draco’s mind, this could only mean they were plotting something significant and, no doubt, reckless. Why else would they need Hagrid’s involvement? The thought that his fellow Slytherins would degrade themselves by aligning with someone like Hagrid infuriated Draco further, but it also filled him with determination. He couldn’t let this continue.

Late one afternoon, as he lurked in the shadows of the castle grounds, Draco caught sight of Theo, Blaise, and a few Gryffindors sneaking out of the castle, casting furtive glances to ensure no one was watching. Keeping his distance, Draco shadowed them through the fading light, following their path all the way to Hagrid’s hut on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. His curiosity was piqued; the Forbidden Forest was a place steeped in dark legends, forbidden to first-years without permission. Surely, they were up to no good.

As he crept closer, he watched the eager faces of the club members as they knocked on Hagrid’s door and were ushered inside. Draco could just make out Hagrid’s gruff voice greeting them warmly, his laugh rumbling like distant thunder. Whatever Hagrid was involved in had these students excited, and Draco was determined to find out what.

Taking care to remain hidden, he edged around to the side of Hagrid’s hut, straining his ears to hear through the small window. The muffled voices inside hinted at an animated conversation, punctuated by Hagrid’s booming laugh. His heart pounded as he picked up fragments of their talk—mentions of “dragon egg” and “hatching.”

Draco’s mind spun with possibilities. Could they be plotting to bring some dangerous dragons into the school? Or, even worse, were they planning to help Hagrid hide it from the professors? His father had often mentioned how Hagrid had a dangerous fascination with creatures that didn’t belong anywhere near students, and Draco shuddered at the thought. It seemed like these blood traitors were going along with Hagrid’s foolishness.

Draco leaned in even closer, his cheek practically pressed against the cool stone wall. His fingers dug into the dirt as he strained to pick up every word, his mind racing with schemes to report back and reveal their plans to Professor Snape—or perhaps even to father himself. He could practically see the vindication on his father’s face, the smugness of having exposed yet another reckless Gryffindor scheme.

Then he heard Theo’s voice ask, “But, Hagrid, where did you even got it?”

Hagrid’s voice dropped to a whisper, but Draco could still make out the words: “Won it in a game o’ cards, didn’ I? From a stranger in Hogsmeade.”

Draco’s eyes widened. They were talking about a dragon egg. His pulse quickened, and his face split into a grin. So, Hagrid was trying to hatch a dragon egg! And these so-called “Order” members were helping him. It was beyond foolish—it was outright illegal! This was the break he needed.

But then, as he listened further, Draco’s grin began to falter. Potter continued questioning Hagrid about this “stranger,” and Hagrid admitted that the man had asked strange questions—questions about the types of creatures he cared for, and specifically, about the three-headed dog that guarded one of Hogwarts’ most important secrets.

As the Order of the Stars members huddled in Hagrid’s hut, Daphne suddenly caught a glimpse of movement near the small window. She squinted, her eyes narrowing as she recognized a flash of blond hair disappearing into the evening shadows. Her heart dropped—Draco Malfoy had been spying on them.

“Guys,” she whispered urgently, gripping Theo’s arm, “Draco was watching us. He’s already run off!”

A heavy silence fell over the group as they processed the implications. Draco Malfoy, who had been suspicious of their meetings for weeks, now knew about Hagrid’s dragon egg—and worse, he might have overheard their conversation about the stranger’s questions. They all knew Draco would waste no time spreading the word, either to his father or the Hogwarts staff, and if he suspected even a hint of dark wizard activity around the Sorcerer’s Stone, it could lead to disastrous consequences for both Hagrid and the Order.