Author's Note: Written for:

Clue/Cluedo Game Challenge, suggestion #2 in end note.

The A-Maze-Ing Race Challenge. Prompt: compass

Pick Your Poison

Draco had always thought Hogsmeade was too noisy and crowded. As a child, he would run from his parent's or nanny's side at the first chance and go hide in an empty, quiet corner of Honeydukes. As a teen he had no choice but to join his friends, no matter how uncomfortable he felt.

He'd hoped things would still be quiet and empty in the streets – the war had only ended a month ago – but no such luck. He found himself being jostled, his eardrums throbbing, as he slowly made his way down the street between screaming children and kiosks.

Hogsmeade didn't look like it used to with half the shops rebuilt, and Draco found himself getting turned around once or twice, which the pushing and shoving didn't help. He got back on track soon enough, but he found his hand snaking its way into his pocket to clutch the silver compass that he always carried with him.

It was a silly, muggle thing, really, but it had been a gift from his mother on his seventeenth birthday. A family heirloom, she'd said. Something to keep him on track. He hadn't been sure what she meant then, but now that the war was over he could see clearly.

The Hog's Head, of all shops in Hogsmeade, was relatively the same. Dark and dusty and filthy. Only now it was crowded. The Three Broomsticks had taken quite the beating, and Draco wondered if people were really that desperate for a drink that they risked catching a disease in a place like that. Still, he took a deep breath and went inside.

It was a struggle to reach the bar, and once he did he had to wait a few moments for the barman to notice him. He couldn't even get a seat anywhere, so he leaned against a spare panel of wall and gulped down his firewhiskey.

He didn't have to wait long to see a familiar face. Lucius staggered in not ten minutes later, head down, coat collar pulled up, but the hair was unmistakable.

Draco turned his back and ducked down, though he doubted his father could see him through the crowd. He watched the older wizard as he found a seat at the bar and ordered his first drink. Draco smiled to himself. Now was his chance to strike.

He's had to wait a long time for this moment to arise. The trials had taken up the better part of the month – a bunch of wizards he'd never seen in his life judging whether or not he and his family would go free. He'd tolerated it for his mother, to stand by her side and reassure her that everything would be fine. He hadn't expected Lucius to get pardoned again. They hadn't even seen him since he was let go, but Draco had heard the rumors of how he made his way into the pub every night.

He waited until a group of loud teenagers entered the pub and everyone's attention turned toward them before he headed back to the bar and set his empty glass down, taking the added time to drop a miniscule capsule into his father's drink. The liquid steamed and turned red for a moment, before going back to clear. Draco took it as a sign that it worked, and quickly removed himself from his father's side and sneaking toward the exit.

The last thing he heard before the screaming children assaulted his eardrums once more, was the sound of his father choking and falling to the floor.

Author's Note: Clue suggestion #2!

Suspect: Draco Malfoy

Weapon: Poison

Location: Hogsmeade