Chapter Four: I Must Explain
Lost in thought and my own pain, I barely notice that the Death Eaters are beginning to stir. They must have heard something. The Aurors must be here. The time has finally come. One of them is raising his wand. He's pointing it at the door. What do I do? But too late, he has already uttered the hex. A flash of magenta splinters the door and I hear a scream. Suddenly there are shadows flowing into the dark dingy room. I am not prepared for this yet, so I run. As I run I can hear the screaming, the curses, things smashing, and cries of pain. There are flashes of light filling the entirety of the small house.
Suddenly things become much quieter. I know that those inept Death Eaters finally got their due. But I'm still not ready. I keep running. I can't face him yet. I do not know what I will say, what I will do. More importantly, what he will do. I near the last room in the house. I know there is no escape from it, and I know he's coming for me. There is nothing that I can do to stop it. And I will not pretend that I want to. I'm just not ready for him yet.
As I pass through the last doorway separating us, I know he is right behind me. I stop and face the entrance to the room. He will be through it any second now. On the other side of the wall I can hear that he has stopped. He is only mere feet away. I swear that I can almost hear him breathing. I can almost make out the beating of his heart against his chest. Why hasn't he attacked me yet? What is he waiting for? I realize that I can not fight him. I have no intentions of fighting him, I never had. So I place my wand on the floor. I have no need for it now. I raise my arms over my head, and stand perfectly still, in hopes that he will see my surrender before he binds me. Maybe he will give me a chance to speak, to explain.
After what seems like an eternity of waiting he steps into the room. His wand is pointed directly at my chest. I am frozen. Is he really going to curse me? He does not move. And neither do I. The room is as still as a grave.
Looking at him now he seems so different. It is visible that he has trained very hard for this. His build is muscular, no longer awkward and gangly. He is truly an imposing presence. His facial features look slightly more hardened then when I last saw him. He looks almost as exhausted as I feel. He has even allowed a small amount of red stubble to appear on his hard set jaw. He looks almost nothing like he did less than a year ago at our graduation. A short period that has stretched for what feels like a lifetime. But the eyes are still truthful. Just under the fringe of his crimson curls, I can still see the emotion in his eyes. He has not let himself turn to stone. The war has not defeated his soul. And maybe there is still a chance that I can save mine.
Wait, he's lowering his wand. Can this be true? After everything does he feel pity for me? We stand there staring at each other. I almost feel like I can see his face softening. He is beginning to look less severe. I imagine that I can sense a sadness radiating off of him. He has to say something. I have to say something. We can not stand here in silence. The others will be through that door at any time. If I can get out the truth maybe I can escape Azkaban. Maybe they will believe that I have had nothing to do with this war. I know that if I can get Ron to understand that he will help me. I'll do whatever they ask. But I know that he is the only one who will listen to me. Who else would believe a Malfoy?
I cast around my exhausted mind for some explanation. Something I can say that will make him understand. This is my only chance to tell him the truth. Tell him who I really am. Somehow I know that he will believe me. In my heart I know that he will understand. I just have to speak…
"Ron…" he begins to take a step forward. Is he going to strike me? No. I do not see the anger in his eyes. There is something else there. I am not sure what it is, but it is not hate. I try to say something else. Maybe begin to step forward to meet him. But suddenly…
"Way to go Weasley, you got him." I hear the voice as if from very far away…
A/N: thank you for taking this little journey with me. Yes this is the end. it is meant to be a cliffhanger. I toyed with the idea of continuing with it. But I'm not really sure that I want to, I feel that the pain and the anxietyis more palpable this way. But if I see that people want me to continue, I may do that, as a seperate story.