In the Slytherin dungeons, Draco sat, staring at the ceiling. The dark green patterns latched onto the black silk.

He had remembered Lucius’ howler word-for-word. Even if he forgot, he wrote the words down somewhere. His only comfort was that nobody else had listened to it.

He got it only yesterday, when eating breakfast in his dorm.

He’d go down but the crowd whispers irritated him. Every now and then, he’d need a moment of quiet. That was one of those days.

The letter smoked, before Malfoy even touched it. The thin, disproving lips of his father formed with the paper and envelope.

“Draco Malfoy! I need you to immediately get on good terms with Potter and their Mudblood friends. The Ministry’s breathing down my neck, that includes observing YOUR behavior.”

The letter hesitated, his father continued with his usual icy and stern manner, “The further details will follow. The Ministry’s scrutiny will only intensify until the trials end. Ensure you are prepared.”

The letter then burst into flames, scorching ashes landing onto Draco’s hand.

The dull pain was still there, paired with a slightly red hue on his palm. Draco hadn’t taken any meds, he felt as if he deserved this. Bloody Merlins, Draco felt an annoying ache in his scalps.

What could he possibly do about the Ministry’s planned observations? Some of his father’s tendencies, like over-flattery and fakery, surely hadn’t passed onto him. Whether it was good or bad, the fact was yet to judge.

The door flung open as Blaise rushed inside, flinging himself onto Draco’s bed. Theo followed as he sat beside Blaise.

“Why did I have to know from Pansy that you’re getting back with Potter-boy?” Blaise snickered. Draco fidgeted in his chair.

“Just cut it Blaise, you know why,” Draco scoffed.

“Parents?” Theo asked. Draco met Theo’s gaze over the room. Something told Draco Theo knows and understands.

“I’m feeling a little third-wheel here, care to elaborate?” Blaise glanced at Theo and Draco questioningly.

“Ministry needs my school behavior to determine father’s future. No stress.”

“Bloody Ministry,” Blaise commented, a shadow passing over his face, “It’s always them.”

Blaise left minutes later, leaving Theo and Draco.

Theo read at his desk, while silence passed over them like it usually does.

A small tap sounded as an owl perched on their window.

Draco’s heart clenched as he recognized the snowy fur and black spots. One of their family owls. He vaguely recalled naming it Venus.

Theo got the letter, handing it to Draco without a second glance.

“Thanks,” Draco said, his voice growing small as he saw the familiar “M”, a wand in the middle, “Bloody Ministry indeed.”

Theo hummed before he walked back and continued reading like before.

The letter stated that a group sent by the Ministry, going by the name Assessors, will be arriving to surveillance multiple students. Good to know there were several, at least others suffered similar fates. These students’ habit and traits will serve as a factor towards their parents and their own futures.

Procedures include, interviewing the said student and their acquaintances (professors, pupils, faculty members, etc.), observing their daily behavior (through lessons and extracurriculars). Academics and extracurricular accomplishments will also be considered.

The Assessors, arriving at the end of Christmas Break, will stay at Hogwarts over the next month, with interview sessions at the end of each week. Each Assessor will be assigned two students; the pairings will be made known at their arrival.

Christmas Break was still one weeks away, and the Assessors will come at least two weeks from now. The thought calmed Draco’s nerves momentarily.

He barely finished reading when an urgent footstep rushed up the stairs, stopping in front of their dorm.

“Theo!” Pansy burst in, her body trembling. Her panicked state slightly relieved as she saw Theo, “Thank Salazar you’re here. The lette- the Minist- the letter’s here.”

Pansy’s rambling died down as Theo pulled her into an embrace.

Draco stared at his friends before opting to go into the bathroom, just for privacy’s sake. He edged towards the door. However, the escape proven failure as Pansy pulled away from Theo, noticing Draco’s presence.

“Hi.” Draco forced a smile. He rocked back and forth. The walls suddenly seemed interesting.

Theo glared, Draco could almost hear the boy snap, “Some privacy, mate!” Draco responded by eyeing back, “Sorry, I tried!”

Oblivious of the boys’ interaction, Pansy rushed beside Draco, grabbing his letter.

“You got it as well!” Pansy plopped onto a random bed, comparing her letter with Draco’s, “I wonder which others got those letters as well.”

“Maybe the first year, the one who’s just been on the news, Lestrange’s son, was it?” Draco suggested.

“His name is Corvus and no, he wouldn’t receive the letter,” Theo said in a manner that felt like he was stating a commonly known fact. Earth is round, sun is warm, the boy wouldn’t get the letter.

“Why?” Draco frowned, his pride taken a small toll at the blunt refusal.

“Too young. Doesn’t understand anything about his father. Plus, Lestrange is already in Azkaban. Seems unnecessary to keep tabs.” Theo shrugged.

“If we acted poorly, would that mean our families are going to Azkaban?” Pansy voiced, her voice shaking.

“It’s probably more than just our families,” Draco sighed.

“We’ll be marked,” Pansy’s eyes flashed with realization and terror.

Silence fell over the room, except the jarring laughter of pupils outside their window.

After a few minutes, a loud thumping echoed at their doorway, feet hitting the carpets.

“Why y’all having a meeting without me-,” Blaise stopped short at the doorway. Meeting a red-eyed Pansy, pale-faced Theo, and Draco imagined he himself wasn’t in the best state, he had no idea what Blaise might think.

“Did someone die?” Blaise raised his eyebrows, “Please don’t tell me it’s Slughorn. I like the old man too much.”

“Shut up and just read this,” Draco snapped, handing Blaise the letters.

Blaise skimmed through before he exclaimed, “Seems like we need a game-plan for this!”

“Quit playing around, this is serious!” Pansy’s voice laced with tiredness.

“This is exactly why we need a plan!” Blaise rebutted, his voice turning serious, “The Ministry’s full of hypocrites. You need practice if you don’t want them breaking you.”

Under Blaise’s directions, the four sat on the ground in a circle, Draco glanced at Blaise opposite of him. Blaise had asked Theo to write something, Draco didn’t hear what. Either way, Theo was beside him, scribbling furiously on the parchment.

“Let’s start with the basics. We need different, unique strategies for the both of you. But there’s some common grounds that need to be touched,” Blaise started, “First of all, what did your parents tell you?”

“Get along with Harry and his gang,” Draco winced, “No way that’s happening anytime soon.”

“Thought I told you to visit Harry, TWO times” Pansy said with a chastising manner.

“I tried TWO times. And I always end up insulting him so, yeah, that went brilliantly.” Pansy ignored Draco’s sarcasm as she continued, “My parents told me to and I quote, ‘Show them what a happy, beautiful, open-minded girl you are!’”

“This is slightly more useful than Goyle’s reading glasses,” Draco laughed miserably.

“Done!” Theo exclaimed suddenly, “Five requirements based on the considerations given by the Ministry. This is based on difficulty levels. First, good grades.”

“Check,” Blaise stated.

“Second, good extracurriculars.”

“I have Quidditch,” Draco inputted.

“Pansy needs to work on that front,” Blaise added as Pansy scrunched her face. Theo noted it down.

“Third, good reputation with professors and staff.”

“Is this for the interview?” Pansy asked as Theo nodded.

“Don’t have to worry about that, most teachers here are softies. They’ll say a good word or two,” Blaise signaled Theo to move on.

“These are the hard ones, smooth interviews with the official and a good reputation with our classmates.”

Draco groaned out loud as Pansy shrugged, “We can prep for the interview. It’s the classmate part. I know I’m doing alright. So…” Pansy glanced at Draco meaningfully.

“It’s you, my boy,” Blaise said that as he put his hands on Draco’s shoulders, reminding Draco of their old Quidditch captain pumping his teammates up before a match.

“Social connections aren’t built in a day, you’ll need to stop acting like an outcast,” Blaise hyped.

“Wow, thanks for the pep talk,” Draco deadpanned.

“We’ll start small, get the important people that count. Like our dear boy-who-lived.”

Draco frowned in annoyance; Harry hates that title. Still, making friends is a long stretch away from whatever their relationship is.

“Is there someone else? Potter’s little difficult.”

“You’ll need to get on the good side of at least 5 other Gryffindors if you don’t have Potter,” Blaise reasoned in his annoying, arrogant voice that makes Draco wonder which is more frustrating, Blaise’s flippant attitude, or the fact that he’s right.

“For Pansy’s extracurriculars, I’m sure I can get a word in with Slughorn, we won’t need to worry about that for now,” Blaise said. Theo checked over his piece of paper, his head still bowed as he adds arrows and new snips of writing.

“Let’s figure out the other stuff after dinner,” Pansy suggested, her mood visibly lightening.

She disappeared to the common room with Theo.

As Draco left with Blaise, he stared at his dark-haired friend, “Thanks for all this. I mean, it’s … nice how you helped us and all.”

Blaise laughed at Draco’s awkward gratitude, “Consider it a favor, Malfoy. I’ll be needing one from you in the future.”