Chapter Six:
When Draco entered his room at half past midnight he was not expecting to find Anne again sitting on his bed waiting for him. He sighed and went to sit beside her.
"Prince."
"Malfoy."
"Keeping my bed warm again?"
She shook her head, "No," she pointed at the sleeping form in the bed across from them, "his."
"You and Zabini?"
She nodded.
Draco studied her expression carefully.
"So, you're just watching him sleep?"
"Actually. I was waiting for you," she answered, surprising him again.
"Why?"
She met his eyes knowingly. "Draco," she whispered cautiously. I have to know, she thought. "Does it… hurt?" Anne didn't break eye contact as the real question hung unspoken between them. Are you a Death Eater?
Without realizing he was doing it, Draco tugged at his left sleeve. Anne had known him since he was seven years old. If he couldn't be honest with her, what sort of person did that make him? It was all weighing on him—the task he was set by Him, the Dark Lord—everything. He recalled the train ride to Hogwarts.
•¥•
"When the Dark Lord takes over, it'll be all about the kind of service he received, the level of devotion he was shown." Malfoy told his friends.
"And you think you'll be able to do something for him?" Zabini asked. "You're sixteen years old and not even fully qualified."
"Maybe he doesn't care. Maybe what he wants me to do isn't something that you need to be qualified for," Draco replied quietly.
•¥•
He couldn't be that self-assured with Anne. She knew he was afraid, she had seen it.
"Draco," she said his name again, bringing him back to the present. She wasn't looking at him anymore. She was watching Zabini, who was twitching slightly in his sleep.
"Go to bed, Anne," he dismissed her. "I don't want to talk about this right now."
She refused to leave even as he began undressing. He didn't want her to see, but he started to take his shirt off anyway, flinching as the fabric brushed his left forearm. Maybe he could tell her without words. He desperately wanted to tell someone. He felt so alone in this. Draco forced back the tears that welled at the corners of his eyes.
Anne gingerly reached for his hand and pulled it toward her. Draco Malfoy, you idiot. She didn't bother trying to stop her own tears.
"Why didn't you tell me?" she whispered and dropped his hand.
"Well, we weren't exactly on speaking terms, were we?" he croaked.
Anne's lips curled in a smile that didn't reach her eyes.
An uncomfortable silence stretched between them for several minutes.
"It's our first Hogsmeade visit next weekend," she said in an attempt to lighten the mood.
Draco nodded, not trusting himself to speak.
"And put on a shirt, you weasel," she shoved him playfully before leaving the room.
•¥•
Neither mentioned what happened that night until the time came for the first trip to Hogsmeade. Draco had somehow managed to land himself in detention with McGonagall. Apparently, he had yet again failed to do his homework. Anne had never known Draco to have such a blatant disregard for his education. After all, it was important to Narcissa, and Draco would never want to disappoint his mother…
Unless he's trying to impress someone else now, she thought bitterly.
She still wasn't certain if Draco did, in fact, have the mark. She hadn't actually seen anything on his forearm, but gauging from his reaction, that was the only logical explanation she had.
They were all standing in the common room getting ready to go. Pansy was pouting, naturally, but Draco seemed distracted when he left them to go to McGonagall's office.
Anne frowned, leaning on Blaise as she lifted her left foot to pull on her snow boot. She had spent the week leading up to the trip planning to talk to Draco on the way to Hogsmeade. It would have been a perfect opportunity to attempt Legilimency again. Sadly, it would just be Pansy joining her and Blaise on the walk into the village. There was no question about Crabbe and Goyle, who seemed to have permanent detention with Snape this year.
•¥•
With the return of Voldemort, now that everyone believed what Potter had been saying since their fourth year, security was even tighter at Hogwarts. The fact that they were in Slytherin did not excuse them from being prodded by Filch's Secrecy Sensor on their way out of the castle.
Pansy spent the entire walk to The Three Broomsticks complaining, loudly, about how little she saw of Draco this year.
"It's not fair! I know he's busy doing this thing for the Dark Lord, but what about us?! I mean, he asked me to the Yule Ball. I take care of him. Why doesn't he trust me? And why, why, did McGonagall have to give him detention today? I hardly get to see him anymore, and I wanted us to go to Madam Puddifoot's for tea."
"So you could slip him a love potion, no doubt," Blaise taunted.
"Oh, bugger off, Zabini, you worthless sack of dung. You're just jealous because it took so long for Prince to give you the time of day."
"At least she didn't get detention," he retorted.
Pansy screamed shrilly.
Anne took some comfort in her earmuffs, glad she had opted to bring the enchanted pair her mother used for repotting Mandrakes which kept Pansy's screeching fairly contained.
Blaise tapped Anne on the shoulder just as they reached the door to the inn, the look on his face clearly a desperate plea for rescue from Pansy's incessant chatter. Anne rolled her eyes and slid off her earmuffs.
"Give it a rest, Parkinson. I'll buy you a butterbeer if it will keep you quiet for a while."
"I just can't believe that Draco would—"Pansy paused mid-sentence to glare darkly at her. "Fine. But I would rather have mead."
"Whatever shuts you up," Blaise muttered, rubbing his temples.
Anne laughed, ushering them both inside.
They sat at a table near the restrooms, away from the crowd of students and other wizards gathered at the bar. Anne ordered a bottle of mulled mead for the table and a butterbeer for herself. She watched the pub-goers curiously. Draco's absence had thrown off her plans and she was anxiously debating if she should even be following through with Snape's request to "keep an eye" on him.
She and Draco had been friends once, and perhaps they could be again, but deep down she also wanted to know what exactly Malfoy was doing, and why he had tossed his lot in with the Death Eaters. Was he just protecting himself now that Voldemort was back? Why was he so distracted this year? Why did Severus want her help? She had so many questions.
She took a swig of her butterbeer and sighed.
Pansy was on her second mug of mead, humming tunelessly.
"I'm bored," she droned. "Can we go now? I miss Draco. I wonder what that miserable old McGonagall is making him do for detention? I hope he can come to Hogsmeade next time. You two are awful company."
Anne was still nursing her first butterbeer. She was holding Blaise's hand under the table. Pansy had acted more disappointed than surprised when she found out the two were now sort of an item. I never thought you would give Zabini the satisfaction, she had said, he isn't really your type. But Parkinson didn't know anything. Zabini was exactly what Anne needed.
•¥•
Blaise squeezed Anne's hand gently, bringing her back to the present.
"Where were you?" he asked, pushing a stray strand of hair off her face.
"Thinking…" At that moment Anne noticed a girl exiting the restrooms carrying what looked like a package of some sort, shortly followed by Madam Rosmerta. Odd. I never even saw her go in, Anne thought with some concern. Something strange was afoot.
"We lost her again," Blaise said to Pansy, who looked flushed after downing three mugs of mead. "Can you walk unassisted, Parkinson?"
"Go to hell, Zabini," Pansy replied with a small hiccup. "Now can we go?"
"Yes," Anne said, standing abruptly as she noticed the girl with the package leaving with a group of Gryffindors. "Let's get back to Hogwarts. I've got to finish my star chart for Astronomy," she added as she shook her hand free from Blaise's and dropped a few galleons on the table.
"I thought you dropped that—" Blaise started to say, but Anne was already starting toward the Gryffindors walking out the door. "Prince, wait!" he called.
Anne turned back reluctantly and waited with her arms crossed while Pansy drained the last of the mead and slowly rose to follow them.
"I'm staying in the common room next time," Pansy huffed, hiccuping again. "What was the point of coming out today without Draco?"
"Shut up, Pansy," Anne snapped. "Let's go."
"Why are you suddenly in such a hurry, Anne? Your boyfriend isn't stuck in detention."
Anne cursed under her breath. She had lost sight of the girl while paying attention to Blaise and Pansy. How would she find out what was in the package now?
They were halfway up the High Street when they noticed a group of students gathered around a girl who was squirming on the ground. Anne cautiously walked closer to get a better look. It was the same girl she had seen with the parcel. It looked like she had been cursed.
What the hell is happening at Hogwarts? Anne wondered as she saw Potter and the groundskeeper, Hagrid, running up to the group of students.
"Come on," she said to Blaise, grabbing his hand again and pulling him along, leaving Pansy to catch up. "I need to do some reading."
