Written for Marvelously Magical FanFiction's #LoveYouToDeath 2019 Fic Exchange

Prompt: It was the middle of the night when Character B was abruptly woken up to an owl that simply said, "Run." Now they're doing just that, trying to get as far away from the threat as possible. Character A has always been there for them before but now Character B isn't so sure if they were being honest. Character B has to determine whether or not to trust Character A or if they're the one they should be running from.

Pairing: Wanda Maximoff/Draco Malfoy


"Run"

Draco stared at the word he had written on the scrap of parchment he had found in the bottom of his bag. He had to warn the woman who was waiting on them in the Forest of Dean. She was not a Muggle, but she wasn't a witch either. She was called the Scarlet Witch, but she was not like any witch he had ever met. He thought they had found the last of the snatchers and it was safe to cross the lines between Muggle and Magic again. But, whispers in the forest told him that Wanda was in danger if she stayed. He would have to find a way to protect her until he found the danger. No witch or wizard should have to run for their lives, even a scarlet one.

"Run"

Wanda still wasn't sure why she was running, but she had learned to pay attention to strange things. Having an owl drop a tattered piece of parchment into your lap as you were stargazing in the Forest of Dean was definitely one of those strange things. She had been in the Forest to meet a group of witches and wizards. She wanted to get better control of her magic, and this group had promised to help her. But, control of her magic was not worth her life. She would have to find a way to get in touch with the blond wizard who had promised to help her. After she started to run.

"Run"

Draco gulped air into his lungs as he woke up from his nightmare. Voices of lost souls still echoed through his ears as he tried to take in his surroundings. He remembered flashes of running through endless hallways, firing spells at the shadows that we chasing him. This nightmare was new. He had learned over the years to control his reactions to dreams about the War and cases he had worked as an Auror, but this dream was different. The hand he held as he ran was slender and scarred. He needed to get control of himself and figure out why he was being haunted by these new dreams. He had told her to run when he heard the first whispers in the Forest of Dean. All he could do now was hope that she had listened. He would start looking for her in the morning. He was tired of running.

"Run"

Wanda stopped to lean against the nearest tree. She had packed her small tent as quickly as her magic had allowed and was getting back to civilisation as fast as she could. That was the problem with hiking to a meeting spot in the middle of nowhere. It took forever to get back to people and safety if something went wrong. She didn't know what was wrong, just that something was. The hair on the back of her neck felt like it was standing up and she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched. She needed to get back to people and communications. The wizard she was supposed to meet had told her to look for a grey owl at the check-in gate if she ran into trouble in the forest. She wasn't sure why she needed an owl at the time, but the note from the sky suggested it was a way to send messages among the people she was supposed to be meeting. Only a few more miles and she would be able to find a way to communicate with the people who may have just set her up.

"Run"

Draco's hands shook as he tries to pour a tea into his waiting cup. The source of the whispers in the Forest of Dean was not of his world. He had set wards and spells to find the source of the whispers and came up with nothing. It had to be something following them from her world. He had sent an owl to Granger to see if she could find out more about these Avengers that Wanda was a part of. The danger had to be coming from whoever was hunting them from outside the wizarding world. He needed to get to her to protect her. But, who could he trust? He was going to need something stronger than tea to get him through this haunting.

"Run"

Wanda looked at the grey owl perched on top of the old fence post. There was a ribbon on its leg, and a piece of parchment nailed its perch. Quietly, she set her bag on the ground and approached the large bird. The only indication the owl gave that it had seen her was to turn its head to watch her approach. Draco told her that the Ministry used trained owls to communicate, but she had never actually seen an owl wait like this one. Carefully, she took the parchment from the post and wrote three lines. "Come to me. I'll be hiding in plain sight where we first met. Hurry, something is coming." She folded the paper carefully and wrote Draco's name on it. Holding out to the owl, she was surprised when it took the paper from her hand. "I feel stupid talking to a bird, but today cannot get any stranger. Take this to Draco Malfoy as quickly as possible." The owl disappeared in a flurry of wings and dirt. Time to run again. With a flick of her fingers, Wanda released a trace of red magic and walked into the night.

"Run"

Draco heard the whisper of wings before he saw the owl gliding towards him. He had been sitting on the balcony of his Diagon Alley flat since he woke from his last nightmare. The owl glided over his head and dropped a folded parchment into his lap. "Lumos." He used his wand to get enough light to see the writing on the parchment. She had found the owl he had sent for her. That might be the only good thing that had happened in this entire disaster. His hands shook as he unfolded the parchment. He read the message three times before the light faded from the tip of his wand. She was running. She had given him a place to meet him. He had a few hours to get ready. He didn't know what to expect when he found her, but he needed to be ready to run.

"Run"

Wanda tried to sink into the shadows of the booth she had chosen in the back of the pub. She had spent most of the night trying to get back to London. She had managed a nap on the train and in the bolt holt that she and her brother had found years ago. Making sure to keep her hood over her head, she scanned the room for signs of Draco. She was counting on an owl to deliver a message. This was crazy. But, everything was crazy right now. She needed him to show up and tell her what was going on. She didn't dare contact anyone from the Avengers until she was sure where the danger was coming from. Eyes never still, she waited for a glimpse of white blond hair.

"Run"

Draco pushed open the door of the pub where he had first seen her. Scanning the room, he looked for her slender form in the shadows. A flash of red in the shadows caught his attention. He had finally found her. Now all he had to do was get her to his flat so they could figure out what was going on. He looked at the mirror behind the bar. His glamour was holding. If he did it right, he should be able to drop it long enough to let her know who he was and then return it so he could get her to safety. Slowly, he approached her booth at the back of the pub. "Miss, I have a message for you." His voice shook as he lowered his glamour and looked her in the eye. "We need to get away from here. Take my hand, and the glamour will cover us both." Draco waited for her to realise who was talking to her and take his hand.

"Run"

Wanda watched the face of the man in front of her change from a bearded stranger to a blond wizard. The voice and the grey eyes were familiar even if the face was not. Voices warred in her head as she tried to decide if she should take the hand being offered. Her hand shook as she reached for the one being offered. "Draco, what is going on? I can't get anyone to answer, and owls keep following me."

"I'll tell you what I know when we are away from here. The danger is not coming from this world or mine." Draco whispered as he pulled her out of the shadows. "I have a safe place for us if we can get there without spliching ourselves. Let's go out the back."

Wanda clung to Draco's hand as they made their way to the back door of the pub. Draco took his wand from his pocket and whispered "Silencio" before he pushed open the door. Looking down the alley in both directions, Draco began to pull Wanda away from the light. "Hang on to me. We are going to apparate to a safe space."

"It will not do any good to run," a voice floated out of the dark.

Draco pushed Wanda behind him and raised his wand. A thin, grey-skinned figure emerged from the shadows. "I would not do that if I were you. Thanos is waiting for her."

Draco could feel Wanda tense behind him. "When I cast the spell … RUN!"

Wanda ran as the alley behind her filled with light. Draco's last words echoed through the night as her feet carried her away from him.

"RUN!"