When the evening had concluded the Malfoy's wasted no time disapparating back to the Manor. As the crowd of raven robes began to disappear with sharp cracks of lightning they huddled together. Lucius had his arm outstretched where Narcissa and Draco had tangled their fingers. He bored his bright sapphire eyes into me with a pensive expression. The other two watched in silent melancholy as he judged whether or not to invite me.
I stood near my chair in amusement, not really bothered as to whether or not they took me back with them. I wouldn't be able to stay for the entire night anyways, given that I had to check in with The Order members in Denmark.
Lucius pressed his lips into a thin line and extended his hand to me in such a swift motion it looked like a sword trying to stab me. His large fingers were covered in silvery rings that appeared heavy and expensive. I took his proposition and we disapparated back into the lobby of the Manor.
The familiar piney smell of the Malfoy's clouded my nose as the smoke disappeared around us. Lucius stepped towards me and perked a sharp eyebrow, "You have earned your place here. Consider this an official declaration of peace." His words came out curt and angry, and he obviously felt forced to say them. He paused to glare at me rudely only a moment longer before vanishing up the stairs, cane in hand banging obnoxiously on the stone steps. Narcissa also clung to her position momentarily, shooting me a deeply concerned glance, before picking up her dress and following Lucius upwards to the seventh level.
Draco was staring at the floor with his hands jammed in his suit pockets. Tears were dropping freely from his face onto the stone tiles as he avoided eye contact, standing so still he looked like a statue carved from stone. He didn't need to speak; I could already see the disbelief on his face.
I watched him wordlessly, trying to now suppress the dark magic back to a controlled state. I wanted to hit him for everything he had done to me. I craved to smack the tears clean off of his pretty face as the dark mark urged me on negatively.
I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, trying to remember how I'd extinguished the Veela powers previously when an inferno had broken out. It was bad enough already that the Veela powers naturally encouraged wild emotional swings and tantrums on their own. It was a dreadfully long and silent few minutes as I slowly contained the dark magic enough for the flames to die out and my vision to return to normal. When I opened my eyes again he was watching me, his hand over his mouth.
He started choking on his words, "You do realize Potter will burn alive. The Order will be tortured and executed. And we'll spend the rest of our lives living in fear of the dark lord." He was shaking his head in horror and the disgusted look in his eyes finally brought some emotions to the surface. My heart ached slightly as he glowered in my direction like I was a complete stranger.
"No, Draco. Listen to me-" I began explaining in a firm tone but he cut me off with a sharp yell.
"No! You listen to me, you fucking bitch!" He pointed a long finger in my face accusingly, "You sold out to the dark lord willingly. I can't even look at you. Have you even seen yourself?" His voice was dripping in betrayal and agony. He sunk down to his ankles against the wall, weeping profusely. His head fell low into his hands, "You have no idea what you just did."
I had rarely seen this level of sensitivity from him. I knelt before him carefully, and my long hair swung forward causing me to suddenly realize that it had become white as snow. The vivid combination of golden blonds, reds and browns that had composed the thick strands before were lost entirely to a colorless, ivory sheet which lacked dimension or dynamic. The orb had indeed delivered on it's threats.
Draco refused to look up at me as he cried loudly. I settled on my knees and watched him blankly for a while, before deciding to try again after several minutes, "Draco, please listen to me."
He didn't lift his head from where it was buried in his arms and his voice came out muffled, "Just go. I don't want to see you." His fluffy platinum hair was pushed up against his jacket as he hid from me. I stared at the military watch on his wrist clicking loudly between us.
The gravity of the situation hit me in the face like a baseball. A horrible, gut wrenching ache blossomed in my chest. The thought that I would lose Draco forever, truly, hadn't occurred to me yet.
I tugged at the arm his head was on as he heaved in deep and panicked breaths of air. "You don' understand, it was Potter's plan. I chose to take de dark mark so de Order would 'ave a means to get into de castle. Dere was no other way... after you left us."
He sucked in his breath and his face finally shot up to mine. Blue watery eyes stared at me resentfully. He seemed to judge whether or not I was lying for a moment with a narrow, suspicious gaze, "You're telling me that Potter asked you to become a Death Eater, then asked you to drag him in front of the dark lord? And even if that were true, did he force you to light half the room on fire like a fucking demon?" He leaned forward and paused dramatically.
The power of the dark magic had almost vanished with the stimulus of his presence. I faltered at what to say, my heart breaking all over again. He couldn't possibly understand what it was like when two very strong magical forces merged in one body. I reached out for his knee but he smacked my hand hard, "Don't touch me! Don't you ever touch me again." He forced my hand off his pants as redness seeped into the skin.
It felt like shards of glass had just burst in my chest. I sobbed, finally. It felt cathartic to be near him; he was bringing me back down to the ground and I could recall who I was again, and how to feel. Obviously it was the opposite for him; his arms and legs were pulled as far away from me as he could force them, rammed up against the wall with a look of disgust on his face. I was trapping him.
I stood, feeling hot tears of defeat roll down my cheeks at yet another round of rejection. I looked down at him through hooded eyes and he glared up at me. I spoke in a low voice, "Can I 'ave my moonstone back? I don' know 'ow to control dis magic anymore." I held my hands out facing upwards, afraid that the flames would return uncontrollably, "It is...too strong. Together de Veela and dark mark, dey...build on each other, rather dangerously."
His fingers darted to his chest protectively, tangling in the fabric of the black dress shirt where the stone lay below, "Never. This is all I have left of you. You promised me this once, and I will never let it go. You'll have to kill me for it." His lip trembled as he tried to appear strong before me, but I could visibly see the fear in his eyes that I would do just that.
It was odd that he was even wearing it at all; he had never worn it before when in Death Eater mode and for obvious reasons. It was painfully evident from his behavior how much it was currently softening his demeanor. I pondered if he had started to wear it again after our separation, but it wasn't exactly the type of item that would make his job any easier by wearing. He was acting unrecognizably sensitive with it dangling around his neck.
I turned away from him sighing, realizing that I might very well be doomed trying to retain my humanity over time, "Very well, Draco." I pulled my wand out of the pocket of my Victorian dress to disapparate and was shocked by the shuffling of his shoes as he sprang to his feet against the wall. I swiveled my neck to see he also had his wand out, pointed directly at my head.
"Were you really just about to kill me?" he asked in consternation. I turned to face him and crossed my arms.
"No, I am leaving as you 'ave asked me to," I stated factually.
"Where do you think you're going now?" he demanded to know darkly. He used his free hand to swipe away at the tears on his cheeks. "I meant go upstairs to your room. I can't let you leave the Manor. You've done enough damage." In that instant as he battled with internal terror yet stood bravely before me, he almost looked like a Gryffindor and I had to stifle a mocking laugh.
I stepped into his wand, allowing the tip of it to push between my eyes. I raised my eyebrows, "Don't forget, dere is a graveyard below dis building of all de people you 'ave murdered, Draco. We all 'ave done what we needed to win dis war." He gasped and pressed the wand further into my skin causing me to wince.
"How dare you compare us," he whispered hoarsely. "You've just handed victory over to the dark lord. I was working to prevent it."
"'ow you dare you not compare us," I spat. "Once again, you are not listening to me. And you are 'olding me up. I need to be somewhere else. It is critical you not waste anymore of my time."
He breathed deeply and steadily now as our eyes burned into each other's. Neither of us blinked as the rage between us rose. I knew that he was smart enough to put two and two together, but for whatever reason he was choosing to disbelieve me. It occurred to me just how much of a liar he believed me to be.
"Draco Malfoy, you will lower that wand at once," Narcissa's voice echoed sternly down from the second floor landing where she was now watching in disbelief. She started clambering down the stairs, her shoes banging on the thick stone in rapid succession. When she reached the bottom she pulled out her wand as well and pointed it at Draco, who slowly lowered his in complete awe of what was happening.
Narcissa nodded at me, "You are helping The Order?" She waited with her arm stiffly pointed at her son, ready to swing it in my direction if necessary. Draco's nose pulled up in a sneer as he looked between his mother who had her wand in his face and myself.
"Yes, and I need to 'elp dem prepare for de battle," I replied curtly.
Narcissa narrowed her eyes, "Then you two must find a method to cooperate. You are on the same side. Take Draco with you." Her gaze rested on him assertively.
I pressed my lips together and crossed my arms, waiting for him to whine. I had very little hope that we could possibly come back from the place of mistrust we had now reached. When he said nothing but frown deeply at both of us I spoke up, "Narcissa, I'm afraid Draco will only be a distraction. As you can see, we are not on good terms due to my recent enrollment wit' de dark lord."
He stomped his foot causing us both to jump as he growled through barred teeth, "Oh, we're not on good terms for more reasons than just that mark on your arm. You're a traitor. All you do is betray people around you."
"I told you 'arry and I were poisoned wit' love potions. You chose to believe what you wanted to believe, as you are doing right now. You're stubborn and arrogant," I shot back, now fuming at the suggestion that I had issues with monogamy. "You abandoned me and prevented me from returning. It is your fault I'm marked - you left us no choice."
Draco dropped his eyes to the floor looking irritated and frustrated, and I was unconvinced that he comprehended nor agreed with a word I'd said.
Narcissa's eyes were wide with the personal details being thrown back and forth. She cleared her throat and lowered her wand slowly, "You two need to put this topic of loyalty aside. Work out your romantic endeavors later. This is a war, I will remind you. Lives are at stake."
"Fine, Draco. I can do dat if you can," I said, continuing to glare at him. He nodded, still wearing an unbecoming frown as his face.
Narcissa seemed satisfied with the result of the conversation. She put her wand away, now turning to me, "Don't get killed, either of you. Stick together. I will see you in three days - an update on what to expect would be appreciated." Then she was marching away, all the while peering over the banister's edge to ensure no further drama ensued in the lobby.
I held out my hand to him, "We are disapparating very far, I will warn you." I had planned to do the jump in one fell swoop for the sake of time, given I now had more magical energy than ever.
He gave me a sadistic smirk, "Shut the fuck up. You think you're so powerful now, don't you?" He grabbed my hand and tugged me towards him, leering down into my eyes, our hands coiled together between us. His bright blue eyes were still watery from crying earlier but he was somehow finding his confidence again. He had evidently come to the conclusion that I wasn't going to harm him, and without any threat from me his attitude was coming back in gale force.
I met his with equal poise, "Am I not good enough for you, even yet? What was it you said - dat I was too weak to be a Malfoy?" His breath was hot on my face as we squared off once again. The relationship was finally levelled and we were both fighting for domination. As we looked at each other so closely, I knew he was also thinking about how we used to be passionate lovers. The temptation to angrily kiss him danced oddly in my mind.
Before anything happened that we would both regret I disapparated us and it was a heavy, stretching, painful tug in the black Death Eater smoke as we shifted from England to Denmark in one single jump. We reappeared in the large field on the island where the make-shift Death Eater prison had been set up by the young Slytherin boys to detain Order members in secret. The stout, grey building before us was lit up with lights and Order members were milling around inside, visibly freed through the window panes.
They hadn't wasted a second getting organized. Mad-Eye Moody, now released from his imprisonment, was bent over blue prints of the castle with Order members young and old surrounding him, looking grim yet determined. Blaise and Hilda were at a table talking avidly with the Weasley twins. It appeared based on their friendly conversation that the Slytherin boys had put up absolutely no fight, and I wondered exactly what kind of conditions had been occurring at the so-called "prison". It could not have been so bad at all. They seemed instead to have decided to merged together when the timing was right.
Draco and I both staggered as we landed violently from such a long apparition distance. When he realized where we were he immediately lost all control of his composure, "Fucking traitor! You didn't think to involve me in my own prisoners being released? Using my friends against me!" He shoved me so hard I nearly tripped backwards entirely on the unkempt sod. That was it for me; I was already boiling below the surface from my magic being so badly poisoned.
"Shut up! Just shut up! You did not speak to me for over a month!" I retorted, shoving him back equally as hard as we fought like five year old's. "You stopped caring about de Order. You signed out. You're de traitor!" I managed to get him off his feet and onto his back, pinning him to the ground as we finally let out our pent up emotions on each other.
I ripped at his shirt trying to find the moonstone while he tried to push his hands into my face defensively, "This is exactly why I broke up with you," he snapped at me through exasperations, "You're such a fucking psychotic bitch! All you do is sneak around behind my back. I can never believe a word you say."
I stopped moving temporarily to heave in deep breaths which he matched from where he was flattened to the ground, my hand was against his neck and his were clawing at my dress. My thick white hair was disastrously tangled from his hands pushing my face away. "Give it to me," I ordered him breathlessly.
"In your fucking dreams, you vampire," he barked. His nostrils flared as he evaluated the fact that I had the upper ground with my hand around his neck and my other one pulled back, "If you're going to hit me then get it over with."
"You've made it clear we're through, so I just want my stone back. I need it more dan you do if you 'adn't noticed," I said angrily. He shoved my head away again and I pulled at his collar once more. He then grabbed my wrists, tugging me down to his face.
"Not a chance," he smoldered, our noses touching, "Unless you plan to burn me to death, I will fight you every time you try to take it." We breathed roughly against each other's faces. My heart was pounding so hard from the fight and the helplessness at not being able to retrieve my heirloom that I felt lightheaded on him. I was beginning to fear that I would pass out from the stress of the ordeal when a cheery voice cut through the air from the doorway to the building.
"Lads get the popcorn out, the Malfoy's are generous enough to give us a show this evening," George Weasley stood in the doorframe with a teasing grin and his arms folded. Ginny and Hermione were beside him also staring on the small porch. Hilda was snickering from where she could see us through the window.
I pushed on wobbly feet off of Draco, not bothering to help him up behind me.
As we approached Ginny took out her wand and I stopped in my tracks, assuming it was pointed at me. "Why did you bring him here?" she snarled, and I realized she was looking past me at Draco. He was brushing off his suit, staring sideways at her aggressive act.
He took out his wand as well, pointing it over my shoulder at her, "What's the difference between me and Zabini? We both brought your friends here, if you need to be reminded. I'm sure you know by now that was for a good cause. If you don't believe me, ask Granger." He sounded cool and mean again, his normal self bubbling to the surface. He was standing close behind me and I couldn't help but feel like I was being used as a shield.
Hermione looked between the two of them wearily, "Perhaps you should hear out Malfoy, Ginny. Draco, I mean." She pushed Ginny's arm down with a show of peace. Draco lowered his wand half a minute later, harboring obvious trust issues.
"Show some gratitude Weasley. I'm here to help," he got right to the point with his typical callous demeanor.
"Ah yes, the helpful Draco we all know and love," George quipped with a sarcastic golf clap, which only served to throw fuel on the fire.
"You disgust me," Ginny said to Draco darkly, "Just great. Now we have two Malfoy's to deal with. You can't even stand each other that's how bloody despicable you both are." She turned abruptly and disappeared inside and I couldn't help but wonder how true that last statement was.
Draco answered for both of us. "Good observation," he jabbed as he pushed me aside on his way in, stopping only to nod awkwardly at Hermione who was taking up most of the thin door frame.
Inside the building the offensive fluorescent lights blared in our faces and I had to squint to adjust my eyes. There were at least thirty people inside of the complex, all strategizing and preparing in different ways. In the far corner there was an open door that showed off a busy potions lab. Piles of broomsticks were in the opposite corner, with a variety of odd looking armor and battered quidditch gear that was being fitted to wizards and witches. The smell of food filled the air even though it was already almost 2am. I was baffled by how fast they had moved in the few hours since they'd taken over the base.
I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to face Hermione who had closed the door behind us. She looked shy and uncomfortable, "How are you feeling? Can I see the mark?"
I held my arm out to her, "I feel...sick. I feel angry, 'ateful, and emotional constantly. Like it is going to take over my whole 'eart. I think I will never be de same again." My voice was so glum her eyes flickered to mine briefly as she was pulling up my sleeve.
"What you did was extraordinarily brave," she comforted me. Her fingers ran over the black ink embedded into my skin, "I for one am proud of you. And I will help you when this is over. You now have two marks that we need to identify to the Ministry as requiring removal. It could prompt an entire field of research. This could be viewed as an opportunity to encourage change, possibly ban marking altogether." She pressed her lips together and pulled me into a hug. Her strength and kindness soaked into my skin and I let my head rest on her shoulder.
"Thank you, 'ermione," I whispered into her bushy hair.
She pulled back with an exhausted appearance. She had dark circles under eyes as she pointed towards a set of dark green doors, "That's where the barracks are, where they kept us for months. We're extremely tight on beds, you will have to share with Draco. George and Fred have agreed to share a bed to accommodate you two. I was only expecting you to arrive - why did he come? It seems like you're not on good terms." She played with my ivory hair with sudden curiosity.
"We are not on good terms. Let's leave it at dat," I brusquely replied, resenting the notion of sleeping in a bed with him once again.
"And when exactly did this occur?" She held up a cluster of white hair and I noticed Draco eyeing us from where he was now seated next to Hilda and Blaise, his chin in his hands with a distrustful look.
"When I took de mark, I suppose," I shrugged as she evaluated the rest of me like I was a creature at a zoo.
She leaned in close to my face, scanning me like a laser, "Your eyes too, they've gone almost entirely black. There's a few hints of blue at the center...Only the iris, the sclera hasn't been affected of course. It's...well it's unstartling I'm afraid to tell you," she sheepishly pointed out. Concern was seeping across her pretty face, "It's quite unbelievable. I suppose we hadn't considered what merging your ancestral powers would produce in conjunction with the dark mark."
I rolled my eyes, not in the mood to be treated like a lab rat or a freak at a circus, "It's fine. I'm not concerned about it." I had completely signed out of caring about my appearance, given that so much more was now on my plate. I knew I was still attractive, only the color palette had changed. And I was now more powerful than ever for the battle of Hogwarts.
"Alright you fools, gather around," Mad Eye spun his unnerving axial eye ball around the room, his voice grouchy and unfriendly, "Here is the plan."