Changing with the Times

"Sometimes Ila, I wonder why ever I apologised," Malfoy remarked.

"Sorry," Ila said, sheepishly, handing him a tissue to wipe away her snot that was on his face. "It's not my fault, I can't control my sneezes."

"No, but you can control your aim," Malfoy said, wiping his face aggressively with the tissue before realising it wasn't enough and walking to the sink that materialised in front of him and cleaned his face. "Like, not sneezing the direction of my face!"

"Fine," Ila huffed. "I'll see if I remember that next time."

The two were sitting in the quiet Room of Requirement. The sound of rain pattering against the window was the only thing stopping them from drifting in silence. Since five o'clock in the morning, the two have done nothing but eat breakfast and pour over newspapers all about Lauren Dawlish.

"Right," Malfoy said, sitting back down, opposite her. He shuffled through the articles before finding his parchment where he kept all his notes. "So, Granger thinks it was the Sisters who killed her, not Voldemort."

Ila hummed in response, skimming through a rather nasty article about Lauren Dawlish that was made by none other than Rita Skeeter. Merlin did the women hate anyone that wasn't her. It went in-depth about the rumours surrounding her. How she would cheat on her husband every week with a different Auror just to get some information about a cult that hadn't been active since the Middle Ages, causing Rita to speculate if she was even interested in the cult in the first place.

"I s'pose she could be right," he said, making Ila snort.

"Never would I thought to see the day Draco Malfoy admit that perhaps there is a reason why Hermione's one of the smartest people in our year," Ila said, smirking.

"I don't think you also thought you would see the day in which the two of us can actually be in a room and we don't actually want to strangle each other alive," he said.

"Speaking of, won't people get suspicious that we haven't been…wanting to strangle the other one alive in a while?"

"I don't think we're always in the centre of people's conversation, Ila," he said. He started using her first name. She hadn't told him that she would rather him use her last. She thought he would get the hint since she kept using his but maybe being subtle wasn't the Slytherin's strong suit. "People don't care that much."

"Didn't we get on the front cover of Witch Weekly ten times?" Ila asked. "And besides, I didn't mean random people…I meant, what about our friends? Your ones to be specific. Hasn't Parkinson realised that it's a bit weird that you keep shouting at her and you keep sticking up for me?"

"Parkinson isn't that smart," Malfoy told her. "She'll think about something, only to get distracted by how ugly some girl's face looks to the point where she'll tell said girl about how her face makes her want to throw up."

"That's so horrible!"

"She's said that about you," Malfoy said, avoiding her gaze.

"I assume you stuck up for me?"

"That was last year," Malfoy sighed. "Before everything."

Ila was going to ask him something when she suddenly had a magazine shoved in her face. It was an article that she had seen from the Quibbler. It was the same one that Hermione showed her and Ron, right after her first task. She scanned through the double spread of the reader's 'Kraziest Konspiracies', to find the last article which talked about Lauren Dawlish.

"If Granger's right," Malfoy said. "That would mean, whoever wrote that conspiracy was correct. Whoever this is, they knew about what happened to Lauren Dawlish, and if they knew about her, they'll know about the Sisters."

"Do we know who it is?" Ila asked.

Malfoy shook his head. "All the others have their names, but this one doesn't. Probably a good thing, considering they knew about what happened with Lauren."

Ila glanced down to see 'Anonymous' credited as the creator of this theory, or at this point, fact. But there was something that had caught Ila's eye.

"Have you seen this?" she asked him. Confused, Malfoy walked around the table, towards Ila. He leaned over her to see what she was talking about.

"What?"

"This," Ila said, hoping he didn't catch her voice breaking. She pointed to a symbol next to the name. Drawn in a thick, red pen was a double spiral. Malfoy moved closer to get a better look at the symbol.

"A double spiral," he whispered. They were so close; Ila could feel his breath against her neck.

"I know that," she said. She was struggling to sound mean. "But what does it mean?" She looked at him. He was concentrating ever so hard. There were only a few times she was this close to his face. The more time she spent with him, the frequent the times were getting. While she should have been concentrating on what was going on in the article, she couldn't help but notice the single brown strand that was on his head. It would have been hidden beneath the silver and blonde hairs but this close, Ila realised that Malfoy could have been with brown hair. A sudden imaged conjured in her brain.

Concentrate.

Luckily, Malfoy moved away and walked towards the bookshelf. It was like a weight was lifted off her, even though they hadn't even touched. He scanned through his bookshelves before taking out a book from the third shelf. He brought it back and opened it. "I was right," he muttered.

"About what?" This time, it was Ila's who moved closer to Malfoy. His book was open to a page with several symbols and their meanings. Ila followed were his pale finger rested.

"It's a Double Spiral, a Celtic symbol. It means that a balance between two opposing forces: Life and Death, Creation and Destruction, are all in harmony."

"Is it a message?" Ila asked as Malfoy turned around and leant against the table.

"It looks more like a symbol for a group," Malfoy suggested. "But it could be a message. Maybe anyone who's a part of this group wanted to let people know about the Sisters. Maybe they even wanted to let the Sisters know themselves, that someone out there knows too and they aren't backing down…we don't know it could mean anything…but…they only way to find out is to find our Anonymous writer."

"Breathe in your sorrows….aanndd breathe out your sorrows….breathe in your guilt…aanndd breath out your guilt…breathe in your fears…aanndd breathe out your fears…remember everyone, keep a blank mind. This will only work if you are calm…"

CLANG!

Everyone swivelled around to Ila placing a glass ball carefully in its rightful position. She smiled nervously. "Sorry for being late, Professor."

Trelawny stared at her before saying, "Just find your seat…now everyone, it'll be harder to focus again, we will have to realign our energies once more…breathe in…"

"Where were you?" Ron whispered as Ila sat down cross-legged and pretended to meditate.

"I was…busy," she said quickly, "Why?"

"Are you lying?" he said, throwing Ila off. She opened her eyes. Ron looked serious.

"No," she said. She knew that she shouldn't be offended with him implying that she's lying, but it did hurt a little to see the accusatory glare thrown at her.

"Are you sure?" he asked again.

Does he know something? No, Ila made sure to check the map before she went downstairs into the common room and right before she walked into the Room of Requirement.

"Yes…do you want me to prove it?"

Ron didn't say anything. He scoffed before looking at the front.

"What were you busy with?"

"Why are you asking so many questions?"

"I'm not…as your friend, am I not allowed to know where you've been?"

"You don't have to know all the time," Ila whispered rapidly. "It's not like I know where you go all the time either or Hermione. Did I do something? Are you mad at me?"

"Of course I'm not bloody mad at you. Why the fuck would I be mad at you of all people?"

"Ron, Ila, something is telling me that the two of you aren't realigning your energies like the rest of the class," Trelawny said sternly before going back to her meditation.

"So then why are you angry?" Ila whispered.
"I'm not angry."

Ila stayed quiet momentarily.

"You sound angry."

Ron took a deep breath in, but something told Ila, it wasn't for Trelawny's mediation practice. "I promise you, Ila, I am not lying to you when I say I'm not angry."

"I'm sorry…it's just that you don't get this angry that often. The only other time you've gotten angry was when you got that letter-"

"FOR FUCK'S SAKE, I'M NOT BLOODY ANGRY!" Ron yelled, stunning the entire class. Trelawny was speechless, unable to think of a good telling off. Ron stared at Ila, regret already seeping in, but rather than apologising, he stood up and ran out of the classroom.

"Ila, go find him," Trelawny said.

Ila sighed, before also standing up. "Should I take our bags -"

"Yes Ila, take your bags and find him now!"

She swooped up both bags before climbing down the ladder, into the hallway. She saw a bright mop of red at the end of the hallway. "RON!"

He ran away.

Ila moaned, not wanting to have to run this early in the morning. But something was up with her friend, and she had to find out before he gets too angry.

"Rooonnn!" Ila yelled. "Stop running! You know how I get if I run too early in the morning."

Ila saw the red mop of hair slowing down, eventually coming down to a stop outside the courtyard. Ila saw him sit down on the edge of the stone archways that many students used as the entrance if they were lazy. Ila trotted up to Ron, dropping their bags at his feet and took a seat next to him, leaning against the wall so that she was facing him. He was looking into the courtyard, watching the rain patter gently on the floor. The two sat there like that for a few moments as Ila decided the best way to understand what was going on with Ron.

"Why're so bitchy this morning?"

Ron looked at her. Red splotches littered his face, slowly fading back to his pale skin as his anger dwindled.

"I'm not acting bitchy," Ron muttered, turning back to the courtyard.

Ila stretched her feet which reached Ron. "Knowing you have a problem is the first step in recovery, Ronald," Ila said, mimicking the voice of the woman that hosted the self-help programme Ridhi auntie would always watch.

"It…remember that letter I got last month…"

"The one that you didn't let me and Hermione, see?"

Ron nodded. "It was from Percy…he was just acting like a stupid prick!"

"What did he say?"

Ron looked at her. "Promise not to tell anyone?"

"Why would I tell-"

"Ila!"

She rolled her eyes but brought her legs in. She sat cross-legged and shuffled closer to Ron, who held out his pinkie out to her. Ila crossed her pinkie with his.

"I, Ila Pott -"

"That's not your full name."

Ila sighed. "I, Ila Leelima Potter, promise to not get sad…or angry…or disappointed. I promise to act as an emotionless robot when Ron tells me whatever he wants to tell me. Fine?" Ila said, watching Ron connect his thumb with hers before kissing it. He waited for her to do the same before he let go.

"How's Percy been a prick and how does that involve me?" Ila asked, starting to get curious.

Ron sighed, small blotches of red splattering his face. "Ever since the Cup Final he's just been acting weird. Apparently, he's started coming homeless – he's been too busy trying to find out what happened to Crouch. Mum tried to calm him down, but he said...the bastard told mum 'to fuck off.' I mean, we all think like that sometimes, but we never actually outright say it," Ron explained. "Dad was telling me that mum wouldn't stop crying."

"But that doesn't sound like Percy," Ila replied, thinking back to all the times Percy would tell her and the rest of the Weasley siblings off for using bad language. The whole reason why Hermione was Percy's favourite Weasley sibling was that she wouldn't swear.

"That's what I said, but…he's been acting weird…I don't know what happened. But I don't want to. I don't want to talk to him…he's just going to get on my nerves."

Ila could see his hand shaking. She grabbed it, trying to steady it. "Is that all?" Ila asked, seeing him shift in his seat.

"Yeah…" Ron said, looking away from her. While Ila wanted to do nothing more than ask how she was involved, she knew that he was going to get even angrier, something that she wasn't in the mood to deal with. The bell rang, Ron immediately grabbed his bag and walked away. Ila thought he was going to leave again.

"You coming or what?" Ron asked, turning around. His eyes were watery.

"Alright," Ila said getting her bag and catching up to him. Ron took her bag as well, and the two walked in silence to the Great Hall. They were probably a few feet away before Ila wondered if there was something else that was on his mind other than Percy. "You and Hermione alright?"

Ron stilled momentarily, bumping into a first-year Hufflepuff. "Sorry!"

"What do you mean are we alright?" Ron said, the tips of his ears getting red. "Obviously we're alright. What makes you think we aren't?"

Apart from how you answered, and the constant passive aggression Ila had to deal with for the past month and a half? "Ever since the Second Task the two of you…"

"The two of us what?" Ron asked, trying his best to sound as casual as possible.

Ila shrugged. "I dunno…you two haven't been yourselves for you good while…ever since, well ever since the Yule Ball."

Ron choked, getting into a coughing fit even though he hadn't been drinking anything. Luckily the two were heading into the Great Hall. He hadn't stopped coughing by the time they reached Hermione at their table.

"Is everything alright?" Hermione asked, which seem to make everything worse. Ron looked like he was on the brink of Death, even a few of the Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors turning around in concern.

"Here, just drink this," Ila said, shoving a goblet of water down his throat during one of the small gaps in his fit. It seemed to do the trick just about as Ron's coughs were getting less frequent and returned to a healthy pale.

"What happened? Did you choke on a fungus gnat again? Oh, Ron, I told you not to open your mouth that much when you talk in Herbolo - "

"I'm going to Care of…Creatures – er…bye!" Ron snatched his stuff away before running out of the Great Hall. The two girls watched him bump into Parkinson who looked like she was going to bite his head off. Ila could see Parkinson's eyes lock onto her target. Following her gaze…Ila saw him.

They were still looking after their skrewts in Care for Magical Creatures, a feat that would have impressed Ila if they weren't fucking massive. And when Ila means massive, she means everything, every single body part has grown. Ila didn't know if it was a new year but suddenly, the, somewhat, harmless skrewts were now fucking massive cockroaches and not the good ones. They were the cockroaches that just won't die.

"Ron's been acting weird this whole morning," Hermione told Ila as they waited for Grubbly Plank to start their lesson. "Have you talked to him?"

"I tried to," Ila said. "He stormed out of the Divination when I wouldn't tell him where I was this morning…I had to run after him all for him to tell me that he's angry at Percy. Apparently, he's been acting like a prick."

"How so?" Hermione asked.

"Told Mrs Weasley to 'fuck off,'" Ila said, agreeing with Hermione's horrified gasp.

"Percy?" Hermione said. "The same Percy that - "

"- tells everyone off for just saying hell, yeah… the same guy," Ila said, before responding to her name in the register.

"But, are you sure – here – are you sure Percy actually said that…I mean, there's no way that…but that doesn't explain hat whole letter business does it?"

Ila shook her head. "Well…maybe Percy wrote to him. I saw the way the two were during the Second Task. Or maybe that's when Ron found out what he said."

"Oh – speaking of letters," Hermione said, taking a letter addressed to Ila, "Hedwig came by. You weren't here this morning. I think it's from…snuffles," Hermione whispered, handing the letter to Ila before walking to her skrewt.

"Dear Ila,

I didn't think it was for you to know. For the time being anyway, but considering your little birdie sang a bit too much.

I didn't even realise that happened until I broke out. They were under the Imperious or threatened by Death Eaters if they didn't throw me in. And my answer to the question that you're thinking – no, I'm not angry. I mean, in the beginning, I was furious. I wanted to do nothing more than rip their throats out and chuck them in the sea. But the moment I broke myself, I felt free. Being surrounded by those Dementors every day, cloud your vision. You lose yourself because it's easier to and you start to think like that, and you can't stop.

But I'd always catch myself, Ila. Whenever I felt like that, do you know what I thought about?
Your father, your mother, Remus.

You.

You kept me sane Ila. You saved me and I'll forever be in debt to you.

All that to say is that I'm sorry for not telling you Ila. I'm not your father – I'll tell you anything that you want to know from now on. In fact, whatever you want to know, come by the Cave at Hogsmeade. I'll be there.

Love

Snuffles."

She stared at the letter. It was true. The letter began to shake in her hand. How could she have not known before? At least Dumbledore could have mentioned something. Speaking of, how could he just let all of that happen. Surely in the 12 years that Sirius was there, Dumbledore would have realised that he was put there unfairly. As she pocketed the letter, she decided to make a mental note, reminding herself to tell Ron and Hermione before tomorrow.

Making her way to the skrewt, Ila could see Draco carefully lowering their skrewt out of the bucket. There was a whole lamb sitting there, waiting to be devoured. Yet again, Ila could see why he was so angry. But that was probably one of the only things that she could understand with him.

Ever since the two apologised to her, she's been…she's been enjoying spending time with him. And it's not like before, because she was conflicted.

Now that she knows he isn't working with Him, there isn't a voice telling her that spending time with him is wrong. There's nothing.

How dangerous is that?

She'll be spending so much time that…who knows what could happen? She'll be out of control!

"You ok Ila?" Draco asked, running up to her once their skrewt was out. "You look like you're going to throw up."

Ila chuckled nervously before sitting down, a good distance away from their distracted skrewt who was taking a huge chunk out of that lamb.

"I'm fine," Ila said before pointing to the skrewt. Draco seemed to have understood. The two were quite a bit far away from everyone. It's the only time they were allowed to interact with each other in public. He took a seat pretty close to Ila.

This was another thing that had changed.

Their boundaries were suddenly invisible. He could sit as close to her as possible, and Ila wouldn't care. In fact…she actually…enjoyed it.

Here comes the throw-up.

Ila was walking back from her Transfiguration lesson, having to have a talk with McGonagall, she was the last one. She thought she was going to get told off but...it was the opposite.

"Potter."

"Yes Professor?" she said, looking down at her feet, making herself seem as small as possible. She knew she was in trouble the moment she accidentally let her shelf hit Ron's toes. She heard the movement of feet scuffling against the floor before seeing McGonagall's shoes in front of her.

"I just want to say…congratulations," McGonagall said proudly. Ila looked up to see that she was actually smiling. And it wasn't the fake smile she would do if she was forced to a smile. She…was happy. "While many others thought what you did was stupid and unnecessary and a bit show off - "

"Ok I get it," Ila said, her smile wavering.

"You did the house proud," McGonagall said reassuringly. "And I'm sure you would have made your parents proud as well."

Ila squeaked. She didn't know that could happen. But…there was something…hearing from McGonagall that her parents would have been proud of her, felt the same way when a girl complimented her compared to a boy. It was different. It was genuine.

"Than – thank you, professor," Ila said, her voice breaking.

"Now go on, I don't want to keep you away from your lunch."

Ila wiped away a few stray tears she wasn't sure where they came from. She still had that warm feeling in her stomach. That was until she felt her arm being grabbed by someone and was pulled into…into a…what was this?

A fucking broom cupboard.

For a horrifying moment, she thought Rita Skeeter had snuck her way into the school and was ready to ambush her about her relationship with Ron and perhaps Viktor.

But it wasn't her.

"Lumos," Ila whispered. Her wand lit up. Draco Malfoy's face was staring back at her. His hands were still on hers. "I'm beginning to think you enjoy creating fake scenarios where I get kidnapped!"

"I'm not doing this because I enjoy this," Draco said, before turning her around. "Look," he whispered in her ear. Ila would have paid attention if weren't for the constant breath on her neck. That warm feeling came back again. It lit up her stomach, spreading out to her arms, chest, neck, and legs like an ink drop blotting canvas paper.

"What am I supposed to be looking at?" Ila whispered back, wondering if Draco felt the same. His finger popped into view. Through a gap, Ila could see Snape and Karkaroff talking to one another.

"Don't you feel it burn Severus?" Karkaroff said, constantly looking back and forth. Ila couldn't see his face but could feel the fear emanating from him.

"I don't know what you are talking about," Severus said, trying to push past him but Karkaroff wasn't letting him go that easily. He blocked his path once more. They were now much closer. Karkaroff rolled his sleeve to show…it was black. Ila tried squinting but it wasn't that much help.

"What is he showing him?" Ila asked.

"I'll show you later."

Snape stared at his arm, the twitch of his brow giving any emotion that he had. "Put that away before someone comes."

"You know what this means, don't you? What're you going to do?"

"I'm not doing anything, now move!" Snape hissed.

Karkaroff grabbed Snape by his cloak, desperately telling him, "He'll kill us. If He's back, that means he knows about everything. We have to leave - "

"Get your hands off right now or I'll tell Dumbeldore just how unfit you are to run a school," he ordered, wrenching the headmaster's hands off his cloak. "Need I remind just how hard it was to let Durmstrang enter back into the Tournament."

"You and me both know I was set up!" Karkaroff exclaimed. "It wasn't me and you know it. You were there when it happened. You know what went on."

Snape scoffed, peeling back a small smile. "Are you sure?" He pushed past the headmaster, his cloak billowing as he walked away before he stopped. "You don't happen to know what happened to my Polyjuice potion do you?"

"First you accuse me of being a child toucher and now you think I'm a thief!"

"I know which one I'd rather be accused of," Snape said finally before walking away.

"Are they talking about…Voldemort?" Ila said, unable to turn around. There was something comforting feeling his chest breathe in time with hers. "How do you they know?"

"Turn around and I'll show you."

Does he know what she's thinking right now? She slowly turned around. Her wand wasn't lit, and she wasn't ready to light it up. There was a sliver of light coming from the walls above. It was enough for her.

"Give me your arm," he told her. There wasn't that much space in the broom cupboard, but this one felt exceptionally full. Even without the light, Ila could guess just how far the two were away from how strong his breath was on her neck. Ila could feel his body warmth. Ila extended her arm. She felt him slowly roll up the sleeve of her jumper. One of his fingers started tracing out on her arm. "The Dark Mark," he told her. She could feel that warmth spreading up to her head. She was starting to get lightheaded. His arm travelled to the top of her arm. His hand was slowly travelling down, swirling and swivelling around beforehand.

"What is it?"

Ila heard him shuffle closer. She could feel his eyes on her. Her stomach felt as if it was constantly being thrown and dropped to the floor.

"It's a mark for Death Eaters, to show to everyone else who they are. It's only for Voldemort's closest followers," Draco said. "He can communicate with them without anyone intercepting."

Ila wondered if she asked the next question, would it ruin the mood? Why would she not want to ruin the mood?

…

She was too far gone to even think about that question.

"Does your father have one?" she asked hesitantly.

His hand stopped momentarily. "Yeah…I always saw it on his arm. Even tried asking a few times but I got shut down."

"Was he ashamed?"

Draco snorted as if her suggestion was the most stupid she had been. "Of course not…He knew if he explained why he had that, it would break the whole façade he and my mother were trying so hard to uphold…bit too late for that…"

The two didn't talk after that, the sound of their synchronised breaths being the only thing keeping them away from complete silence. His hand was getting closer to her wrist. It was starting to tickle. Her hand twitched every so often. Every time it did, Ila could feel his smirk.

"Have you gotten - "

"Why are you - "

"Sorry," Draco said, "you go first."

"No, it's fine, go ahead."

He cleared his throat. "I just wanted to know if you're alright, after the Second Task and all. I don't think spending nearly two hours in the Black Lake in the middle of February isn't good for anyone." He cleared it again. Was he concerned?

"I'm fine now…well, I still get the sneezes occasionally. But as long as you aren't in direct line, I'm sure you'll live."

Draco chuckled. "That's good to hear…what were you going to say?"

He had stopped drawing.

"I just – I was wondering if you're doing all of this researching for…because you feel guilty about Lauren Dawlish and what happened to her…Draco….Draco?"

"No," he said after a while. His hands never left hers. "No, I er – I mean, partly but…there's a bigger part to it. I can't…I can't explain, at least not right now…but…I need someone to help me."

Ila could feel his eyes on her again. This time, she met them. His hand stopped, reaching her palm. The air was palpable. She wasn't sure what it was or why it was there in the first place but she didn't care. She wanted to stay in it, she wanted to bathe in it. Submerge herself, to swim all the way to the bottom of it and never come out of it. It warmed her in a way a heating spell could never do. And Hermione's healing spells were pretty good. But they make her feel anything.

She wanted to bottle the feeling up. She was sure even when she's panicking about Voldemort, it would cheer her up. How powerful must this feeling be that it could do that? It should have scared her. But Ila found herself taking a step closer to him. She could hear him take a step closer to her. She held her breath.

What will happen next –

Nothing.

Well, nothing that she wanted. Somehow, as Draco took another step to her, he had accidentally tripped on a box of feather quills, causing him to fall. Directly into Ila. The door to the broom cupboard opened wide, light streaming into their eyes. Ila had landed with a thump, with Draco following a few seconds after. Luckily, he had made the correct decision and landed next to her. Ila thought she would be in more pain. Especially considering her head smashed onto the floor. But as she looked to the right of her, she saw Draco's arm extending to her.

His hand had broken her fall.

It took Ila a few seconds to realise what happened before she sprung up, wiping the invisible dust particles from her skirt. Draco was still on the floor and didn't seem like he was moving any time soon, taking his time to watch her from down there.

"Check your arm," Draco said, knowing that she was going to leave soon. "And don't let anyone see it. It'll go away in a few hours."

Ila looked down at her left arm. There, black ink stained her skin in the shape of a skull, with a snake crawling through its eye sockets as it emerged from dark grey clouds. It was the same mark as the one from the Cup Final.

"Hang on – did you say a few hours?"

Ila thought that memory would disappear to the back of her mind like every other thought or memory she had that wasn't important. But it lingered. It wasn't in her face, like some others but she knew it was there. Anytime she was close to him, that feeling came back. That same feeling she thought only happened because she was stuck in a cupboard with a boy and her hormones were being out of control.

The longer she spent time with him, the more she wondered if that was true.

"We need to find more about the Sisters," Draco told her, breaking her away from her thoughts. "But not from the books here or newspaper articles. They barely have anything useful and there's only so much that we can speculate."

"We have the Quibbler don't we?" Ila said. "We could…we could track down the closest office."

"There's one in Hogsmeade…I found after you left," Draco explained quickly when Ila looked at him. "But…we need more Ila…what happens if we can't track that person down? We can't just rely on that person - the person whose name we don't even know."

"What do you suggest?" she inquired thought she knew there was only one place where they could find information about a cult who takes part in blood rituals.

"…Borgin and Burkes…"

Even Draco knew that was a bad idea from the way his voice raised a few octaves.

"You want me to go to the fucking breeding ground of Death Eaters, especially during times like these?" Ila barked, waving her hands in frustration.

"If by 'times like these,' you mean that the Death Eaters you think roam the streets of Knockturn Alley don't even know that Voldemort is back?"

Ila stared back at him, deadpanned. "You're not winning this one, you know," Ila said crossing her arms.

"I know you're scared - "

"I'm not - listen if you want to go, don't let me stop you," Ila said. "But I'm not going!"

Draco stared at her with...an expression she had never seen before. She was almost unnerved. His eyes had widened, his brows softened to a fretful line. His lips were lightly pursed. He moved closer to her. "I know you're scared Ila - don't try to argue it. The Ila that I know is usually a lot more reckless than this one. Listen, I get that it'll be hard to go the Knockturn Alley with all those people there but I'll be there to keep you safe."

She couldn't help but feel some sort of comfort from this.

Before realising that these feelings were going a tad bit too far. Merlin, they've only been friends for a few weeks. She stood up, walking away from him. "Is that supposed to bring comfort or something?" she snorted.

"Fine!" Draco grumbled, annoyed that his manipulation wouldn't work. He stood up and quickly followed her. They two stopped before their skrewt. "But if we're going to actually go anywhere this, we have to find out more about the Sisters before they make their move," Draco warned. "You'll be in more danger if we know nothing about the Sisters than you going to Knockturn alley for a few hours."

"Was that a threat?" Ila asked, her back to him.

"No," Draco asserted, "it's the truth."

Ila looked back at their skrewt, who was making a dent in the lamb. Its head was completely gone, leaving its lifeless body waiting to be devoured. "It's Hogsmeade weekend tomorrow. Let's go find the Office first and then we'll see."

AN: We are now at chapter 40?!

I didn't expect this story to get so long. But good - or bad - news, we are actually coming up to the end of the story. I think maybe another ten chapters (hopefully) until the end. But don't worry - this isn't the end. Oh no, you didn't think I was just going to make some random reimagining of an Indian fem Harry Potter and make only one story out of it?

No way!

I'm planning to take this to the end. There are going to be some big things coming up in the story that wasn't in the original and I plan to keep with it. Anyway, hope you enjoy the rest of the story. Leave a review if you want, I really enjoy reading them and check out my pinterest to see the mood board for the ENTIRE story.