Chapter 51
Hello, kiddies! It's been a little while, but I was waiting to reach a certain amount of reviews! Unfortunately, those review numbers weren't met, but I felt it was unfair to those that did review to not update so here's an update. For the next chapter, I want at least five reviews so I know this story still has a following! Hit me with any ideas, suggestions, or questions you want answered! You guys keep me going so I look forward to hearing from you all. Enjoy, lovelies!
Draco POV
Dumbledore's dead. Watching Snape kill Dumbledore filled me with sick relief that it wasn't me, but at least I haven't gotten blood on my hands yet. I know it will happen eventually because the war will be coming soon, but at least I'm not returning to Briar as a murderer. I don't think I'd be able to look her in the eyes if I had.
"Yes, my Lord. He's dead," I hear Snape say to the Dark Lord. Standing in Malfoy Manor doesn't bring the relief I had hoped it would, but I have a feeling it has something to do with Voldemort being in my house as well as my Aunt Bellatrix. My mother stands next to her sister with a fair amount of distance between them due to the rift that was caused by Aunt Bella attacking Briar in my father's study that night.
"And young Draco, you were unable to follow through with your task? Why?" I go to open my mouth, but Snape interrupts me.
"He would've killed him, my Lord, but I wanted the satisfaction. Dumbledore has been in my way for years and I couldn't hold back from wanting to watch the light leave his eyes." I cringe as I remember the moment Dumbledore fell from the Astronomy Tower. He was dead way before he even fell over the railing due to the Death Curse. While this was Briar's plan, I still can't get over the guilt of my part in the plan. I'm brought out of my thoughts when I feel an icy cold feeling grip my neck. Glancing up, I see Voldemort staring at me.
"Well, Mr. Malfoy, I was hoping to give you a reward for killing Dumbledore. However, I'm feeling generous today so I shall reward you," he finishes with an eerie smile. Hearing the Floo Network come to life, I turn and watch in horror as a haggard version of my father step out of the fireplace.
"Welcome, Lucius," the Dark Lord greets. He continues talking, but I zone out as I watch my father grin at me. There are dark circles under his eyes and his hair is tangled and greasy like he hasn't showered in weeks, but underneath that appearance; there's a new madness in his eyes that comes from being in Azkaban. His eyes are colder, more unhinged, and I can feel a cold settle in my bones.
Looking to my mother, I realize the only people left in the room are her, my father, and myself. Looking at my mother, I find myself taken aback by the anger in her eyes.
"No. Get the hell out of my manor, Lucius Malfoy! You are no longer welcome here," she spits. My eyes widen in shock and pride at my mother's strength against her husband.
"Now, Narcissa, is that anyway to speak to your husband whom you love and adore?" Her glare intensifies as she takes steps towards him and stands next to me. I turn to glance at him and see the grin hasn't left his face.
"My husband is dead. The man I loved is long gone and replaced with this cold, heartless bastard who has caused great harm to our son and the woman he loved who is dead now because of you! You are not my husband and the paperwork is already at the Ministry to annul our marriage," she says with her chin raised in defiance. I look at her in shock as I didn't know she was taking steps to get a divorce from him, but find myself smiling at her. My father, however, was not smiling at all at this announcement.
"That was a grave mistake, Narcissa. You will no longer be protected by me from the Dark Lord's plans," he sneers. His eyes turn to me and the smile I was currently sporting drops from my face. "How is Briar, Draco?" He smirks and I find myself placing a fake look on confusion on my face even though I can feel my heart beating out of my chest.
"Dead," I say with a sense of finality hoping he'll leave the topic alone. He chuckles and I can feel my pulse pick up exponentially.
"We both know that's not true. Tell me, has she had any nightmares of being tortured lately? Because it's coming soon," he growls. My blood boils and I clench my fists.
"What are you talking about?" I can feel my mother's hand on my tense arm that's practically shaking in anger.
"You'll find out soon enough, but I have a feeling she already knows what's coming. Have a pleasant evening, you two," he says before vanishing into the Floo Network with a mock, cheery wave in our direction. Now that he's gone, I can feel the worry mare my face.
"What does he…?" My mother cuts me off and whispers profanities under her breath. Pacing back and forth, I can feel my anger start to outweigh my concern.
Where is Briar?
"Is Snake face finally gone? Good, he really needs to try my moisturizer! Talk about scaly skin," a male voice cuts into the tense air. Turning I watch Briar and Blaise walk into the room as Briar laughs at the ridiculousness that is Blaise. Rushing forward, I find my heart beating wildly out of my chest as I race to get to her.
"BRY!" Her gleeful eyes meet mine, but quickly turns to a look of concern when she sees the sheer panic in my eyes.
"Dray? What's going…OOF!" Her question is cut off as I slam my body into hers and gather her in my arms. Moments later, I feel her arms wrap around me as one hand slides into my hair to hold my face more firmly against her neck while the other rubs soothingly into my back.
"Thank Merlin, you're alright. That lying bastard is going to get hexed the next time I see him," I grumble into her neck. Nuzzling in more, I find myself swallowed in the warmth and comfort of her soothing scent of vanilla and sunshine.
"Of course she's alright, she was with my wonderful ass all day. I'd like to see someone try to get past this hunk of a man," Blaise replies cheekily, but I find myself lightly chuckling even as my heart refuses to calm down even with Briar in my arms.
"Dray, your heart is racing. Are you okay?" Her voice is barely above a whisper and I can hear my mother and Blaise conversing a few paces to my right in hushed voices. Pulling back, I cup her face between my hands as both of her hands slide to rest on my chest. Her beautiful face is marred with confusion and concern.
"Bry, have you had any dreams about being tortured?" I watch as the blood drains from her face and her mouth opens in surprise. She nods her head slightly and my hands quickly find purchase in my hand as they pull at the strands in frustration.
"Shit," I growl in aggravation. Letting my hands drop, I turn to Blaise and my mother who are staring at me in surprise. I point at them and start to bark orders. "Blaise, you are not to leave Briar alone in the manor from now on. Now that Snape has taken over the school, I will not be going back to Hogwarts to finish finals next week so I will be home. If I have to leave the manor, I expect you to stick to her side like glue. Mother, you need to get in touch with Molly and the others and let them know Briar has to lay low due to safety concerns. Fill them in. Maybe they can help us watch her." I whirl around to stare at Briar whose face has softened into a soft smile. "Bry, you need to…" I find myself unable to finish my sentence as her lips silence mine.
Pulling back from the kiss, Briar keeps her hands on my cheeks in a soft caress as her thumbs move soothingly over my cheekbones. She smiles softly at me and I stare back at her in confusion and concern.
"Dray, you can't protect me from this. It's going to happen. I've seen it," she whispers. I can hear my mom gasp behind me, but my eyes stay glued on the green eyes I've fallen in love with in defiance.
"No, we'll keep watch and make shifts so you're not alone even for a second. We'll make sure..."
"Dray," Briar says and tries to get me to stop talking, but I just keep plowing through on my plans.
"…everyone knows of the threat and that…"
"Draco…"
"…you need to be accompanied at all times. We need to figure out who..."
"Dragon," she tries again with little success.
"…is trying to target you so we can keep them away from you…"
"Bellatrix and Goyle," she whispers.
"…and I promise once I find out, I'll destroy them with my bare… Wait, what?" I'm snapped out of my rant when I realize what she just said. She nods sadly and continues to rub her thumb on my cheekbones.
"Bellatrix, Goyle, and another woman are working together from what I saw in my nightmare the other night. I wanted to tell you, but that was the night Harry attacked you and it escaped my mind," she finishes.
"Who was the other woman, sweetheart?" I watch as Briar turns her head to look at my mother to shake her head.
"I'm not sure. She was in the shadows. The only reason I saw Bellatrix and Goyle was because they stepped in front of my…" She stops abruptly and glances at me before looking away to avoid my eyes.
"In front of your what?!" She cringes slightly at my raised voice so I lightly grasp her chin in my fingers to turn her head to look at me.
"My cell. She locks me in a cell," she says barely above a whisper. My mother gasps behind me, but I find myself ignoring her as I grasp my wand in my dueling hand and turn to start walking towards the Floo.
"Draco? Where are you going?" I ignore my mother's frantic voice and continue to make my way to the Floo as I imagine my next steps; stopping my Aunt from ever hurting Briar again. Just as I'm about to step into the Floo, I feel a small hand placed on my chest and can vaguely make out the body in front of me. I stop moving and place my hands on her shoulders to try and move her to the side.
"Briar, move," I whisper in a harsh tone. She shakes her head and stays firmly in front of me.
"Bry, MOVE!" My voice raises in my urgency to stop my Aunt NOW. I need to make sure she can never hurt Briar. I can feel her hand leave my chest and at first, I think she's going to let me through, but then her hand cups my cheek and brushes something off my face. I hadn't even realized I had started crying until her other hand joins the other on my other cheek to wipe my traitorous tears away. I glance down and finally meet her eyes and that's when I can feel my heart crumble. Yet again, I can't do anything to protect her.
"She can't…You can't…" I can't think. All I can think about is how, yet again, something is going to happen to Briar because of me.
"Dray, this isn't on you. I knew I would be put in these situations since the first time I took on the assignment as Harry's protector. I willingly walked into this. We're not going to make it easy for Bellatrix, okay? All four of us are going to give her hell and she's going to have to put in a lot of work to get to me," she whispers. I nod my head and pull her into my arms because it's the only thing I need right now. I feel a hand on my arm and look up at the same time Briar does to see my mother with a hand on Briar's arm and my arm.
"How about we all go into the living room and discuss our next steps so we have a plan?" I stare at her and hear Briar agreeing with her through my fogged brain.
Briar takes my hand and I look down to glance at our linked hands before looking at her smiling face. I sniff and clear my throat so I can push my emotions to the side. Now isn't the time to break down.
"Okay, next steps," I say and pull her into the family room. Sitting down on the couch, I pull her into my lap and wrap my arms tightly around her as she leans back into my chest. My chin rests comfortably on top of her head as I survey my mother and Blaise on the other couch. "Ideas?"
"I'm sorry because you're going to hate this idea, Briar, but I think Draco is right with the watch idea," Blaise says. I can hear and feel Briar groan against my chest.
"Guys, I really don't want to have a watch dog around me 24/7," she grumbles. I shake my head at her stubbornness.
"It's for your protection. Stop being stubborn," I bark back before glancing at my mother. "Mother, do you have any ideas about how we can secure the area? We don't want people being able to pop in here unannounced." She nods her head.
"Moody has agreed to come with Sirius later to secure the manor and increase wards around the property even before we knew about the threat against Briar. They'll be here first thing in the morning." I nod my head.
"Okay, so for tonight, Briar can't be out of our sights even for a moment. Both of you should get some rest. I will watch over her and then when I get drowsy, I'll come get one of you to take over for me," I say in a voice that calls for no arguments. Briar, however, doesn't seem to like that idea.
"Dray, you're still healing from Harry's attack. Maybe Narcissa or Blaise should take first watch so you can rest," she says softly. I look down at her and see her peering up at me.
"No, I'm not letting you out of my sight. At least with the wards tomorrow, it'll be easier to not have surprises, but tonight we need to be extra cautious which means you're not leaving my sight. There's no room for argument here," I say in a harsh tone. Briar stays silent, but I can tell from her rigid body language that she's not happy about me not resting.
"Draco, maybe Briar's right," my mother starts, but I cut her off.
"No. You two get some rest. Briar and I will be in our room with the door locked so knock if you need anything," I finish. I stand up with Briar in my arms and I can hear her slight intake of breath at the surprise of being lifted. I can feel a twinge of soreness in my chest where Potter's spell ripped my chest open, but I push it to the side and make my way to our room. Glancing out the window on the way, I estimate it's about 9:00 at night so I have at least 10 hours until Moody and Sirius will be here to do the wards.
10 hours until I can sleep because there's no way I'm taking my eyes off of Briar tonight.