"What do you mean, she's gone?" Draco held the phone back, flinching as Hayden's voice bellowed through the speaker. He was folded up in the hotel bed, the events of the execution still fresh in his mind.
He had been hit with the cruciatus curse and fell to the ground. It last for nearly five minutes; sweat had been pouring down his face, the familiar sensation of the curse forcing immense pain to course through his body, the feeling of his bones splintering was nearly unbearable. The curse stopped abruptly and he grasped the ground below his, his eyes coming back into focus but as he looked up, the field was nearly empty. The crowd that had once been that place had dissipated and only his mother remained, along with Andromeda's broken corpse. Draco heaved, a tight knot pulling at his stomach. Looking around frantically, the realization hit him harder and faster than a bolt of lightning; Kyra was gone. Panic swirled round his brain, his breathing labored. Maybe she had escaped. Maybe she was alright. Perhaps the guards came in and helped her get away.
Narcissa knelt beside him, pulling him against her, shushing into the matted hair atop his head. He hadn't realized he was sobbing. Loud, strangled gasps for air escaped his lips, tears streaking across his cheeks. This was his fault. Alecto had attacked because of him. She had killed Andromeda because of him. Kyra was hurt and missing and it was all his fault. Just because he was too selfish to go down for the crimes he had commit.
"Where is she?" He demanded between strained breaths. His mother looked down at him with pity and regret that made his stomach lurch. Why had he brought her here? It was so unbelievably stupid of him to think they could be safe.
"They took her. Alecto and a few of her friends. They attacked her. She was unconscious and they apparated out with her. They had planned this. They must have someone on the inside. Normally, you can't apparate in or out of this enclosure." He hadn't heard anything after she said they took her. His mind went numb and his breathing stopped. The world slowed around him. He could see his mother's lips moving but there was nothing coming out. He felt empty, hollow. This was, arguably, the worst thing that could have happened. She would be tortured and they would likely kill her in the end.
Anger swelled in his chest, anger with himself. He should have left her alone. She wanted him to leave her alone and he just kept pushing. He should have known he was dangerous. He had been stupid and selfish and it was going to get her killed; it got Andromeda killed. His head shot up at his mother. Her sister was dead.
Draco shook himself, focusing on the phone call. They would be furious. They would blame him. As they should, he thought. They would think he planned this. That couldn't be further from the truth; this was his worst nightmare. Never in his life had he cared so much about someone. She was the best thing that ever happened to him. He had been drowning for three years, sputtering and trying to keep his head above the water. After the war, he was ready to go down. Nothing seemed worth fighting for and then he met her. He met this strong girl with scars as deep as his. A girl who, despite losing her best friend, stayed gentle and caring and passionate. She was a ray of sunlight shining down into the waves and suddenly it wasn't water he was drowning in, it was her. She gave him something to fight for when he gave up searching. She was the only thing that mattered. If he had been drowning before, now he was simply being swept out to sea. He was lost in her, in the way her eyes crinkled when she laughed, in the way she said his name and his heart stopped, in the way she twirled her hair around her finger, the way that she seemed to have sunshine running through her veins, and the way she made him feel like, for the first time in years, he was worth something. Being swept up in her current was the only worthwhile thing he had done in his life and the idea that someone could believe that he would want anything bad to happen to her made him nauseous.
"Carrow had someone on the inside," He finally spoke aloud, sensing Hayden's impatience, "She was prepared. The moment the guards left, she attacked. She had a wand—we never stood a chance. They used the cruciatus curse on me and while I couldn't see, they knocked her out and apparated away with her. I don't know where they took her but she is in danger and she needs our help." There was a pause and Draco held his breath, unsure how she would react. She was very protective of Kyra, but then, so was Draco.
"How do we find her?"
Hayden's chest heaved as she placed the phone down on the dresser. She crumpled onto her bed, burying her face in her hands. This was real now. Draco and Kyra had warned her but the idea that life could be like this—that life could be dangerous and that they could actually be hurt—that had seemed impossible. There was no way to prepare for the fear that would inevitably come along with this danger. Hayden had scarcely felt true fear in her life. Sure, she hadn't loved heights as a child but Quidditch quickly fixed that for her. Sure, she had been nervous about her first kiss but that was nicely remedied. Hayden had never been one to avoid facing her fears. She prided herself on being brave and on leading the people in her life to do what scared them most but those things had been trivial. What was climbing on a broom or kissing a boy in comparison to battling fully grown, highly advanced dark wizards. Had she even known herself at all? Where was the brave little girl now? The one who marched up to Margot Fasstel and told her that if she spoke to Madison that way again, she would have to fish her wand out from a very unpleasant spot. That girl would have taken one look at this scared, weeping girl and boldly demanded she step up and fight back.
She sucked in her breath, swiped a tear from her cheek, and marched out of her room. Kyra was in trouble—real, life or death, trouble—and now was not the time for Hayden to start being afraid. Derek was planted on the couch where he had been when she left, Eli and George beside him, Sophie and Madison on the floor. Ginny and Luna were in the kitchen compiling something for lunch that was wafting putrid smells throughout the dorm with Neville nervously watching from a few feet away.
Hayden cleared her throat and Derek spun around, smiling at her.
"Did everything go alright?" Her heart sunk as every set of eyes turned to look at her.
"No." She paused, nausea biting at her stomach. Panicked glances were exchanged throughout the dorm, silence falling on their heads. "Carrow was there. She set them up. They took Kyra." Whispers rapidly began to swirl around them and Hayden shook the voices from her head, focusing. "We need to get the others. We have to go now. Draco is waiting for us and we need to get her back. She is in real danger and if we don't go quickly, we may be too late."
Marching through the cobble streets, Hayden couldn't help but worry. Sixteen people was an awful lot of people and they were traipsing through this town with a clear mission. They undoubtedly looked suspicious but there was no use in worrying about it. How, she wondered, they were going to stroll into a hotel, past the front desk, and squeeze into a tiny hotel room was beyond her but there was no time to think. Every second they spent worrying was another second that Kyra was in danger.
As they entered the lobby, she spotted Draco pacing wildly. His face lit up as he saw her, though it seemed to jar him from his current stream of thoughts. He took long strides toward them and immediately wrapped her in a hug. Her body was tight as the hug was unexpected. He had never hugged her, nor anyone else, since they had met. She returned the gesture, realizing how terrified he must have been. He looked a mess, his eyes sunken and bloodshot, and his pale face nearly translucent. His blonde hair was horribly ruffled, as if he hadn't stopped running his fingers through it for days.
"I booked a conference room. Follow me." He abruptly turned and took strides in the opposite direction. She looked wearily at the room and shrugged, waving them forward, putting her long legs to use to catch up to him.
He came to a spot in front of a large, white door, pulling it open and bounding inside. There was a long, wooden table that stretched the length of the room. Several unfamiliar adults sat at the far end, looking somber. The group filed in, Hayden taking a seat beside Draco. She studied the adults for a moment, hoping she could identify one of them from the news. Her thoughts were interrupted as Ron entered the room.
"Mum? Dad?" He exclaimed, rushing forward to greet a set of red heads. They embraced him and followed suite with Ginny, George, Harry, and Hermione. The woman, Mrs. Weasley, as Hayden figured, expressed her relief that they were alright before scolding them for not telling her they were in danger.
The group took up the remainder of the seats and Draco stood, introducing the adults to the rest of the group. There was Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Bill Weasley and his wife, Fleur, 'Professor' McGonagall- as Draco introduced her-, Mrs. Malfoy, and Kyra's parents, who both appeared inconsolable. Tension was high in the room and no one seemed to know how to proceed.
Professor McGonagall stood abruptly and Draco quickly fell into his seat.
"I assume you are all aware of why we are here?" Her sharp voice demanded of them. They shook their heads. "We have quite the battle ahead of us but if you are here, you already know that. Minister Shacklebolt is well aware of the events of the other day and our best aurors are working on tracking down Carrow and her accomplices as we speak." Hayden gulped. This was dangerous enough that the Ministry of Magic was involved. "Though I believe we need to form a plan."
"No offense, Professor," Ron cleared his throat. Every set of eyes shot to him. "But don't you think we should address the elephant in the room?" No one answered.
"What do you refer to, Mister Weasley?" Ron stood abruptly, his chair tipping back and clattering to the floor.
"You know bloody well what I refer to!" Mrs. Weasley shot Ron a warning look but he ignored her. "I'm talking about the two death eaters in the room! The two that dragged Kyra to this in the first place!" Draco shrunk back, though his mother stayed upright. "Are we really expected to believe that they had nothing to do with this? How daft do you think I am, Malfoy?" He turned to face Draco, anger bubbling over. "You think I don't know that this was your plan all along? You know your sodding father took out Chelsea but you figured you should finish his work and take out the pair of them?" Draco exploded out of his chair, lunging forward but his mother gripped his arm, holding him in place.
"Mister Weasley!" McGonagall bellowed, stopping Ron in his tracks. "Kindly, take a seat. As you are well aware, Mister Malfoy was found not guilty and you should do well to remember that." Ron slumped into his seat, his face ablaze.
"All due respect, Professor." Harry interrupted, "Alecto Carrow was also found not guilty. Clearly that wasn't the case." Hayden could see Draco visibly fuming beside her. "How do we know this isn't the same?" Kyra's mother cleared her throat.
"Do you trust Kyra?" She spoke softly. Harry nodded. "I raised my daughter to have excellent judgement. If she trusts Draco, we should as well." The room grew silent, no one making eye contact. "If we are going to make any plan work, we have to trust each other. We will never get her back if we are too busy fighting each other."
"So what's the plan?" Hayden questioned, glancing around the table. As McGonagall opened her mouth to speak, the door burst open. Hayden recognized the Minister of Magic standing in the doorway, out of breath with a parchment in his hand.
"We found them."
Author's Note: Hi so this chapter is a bit short but the next chapter will be pretty long so hopefully that will make up for it! I hope that it wasn't too confusing in this chapter with it not following Kyra. Also, if you haven't seen, I have been going back and editing some older chapters. I have through chapter 6 done right now. I am adding in some details- some stuff about American wizard culture and giving the side characters a little more story. It shouldn't super effect the story but if you are interested, you can check it out!