"Don't," Lindsey said, stepping away from them, knowing what they were thinking, "It won' help anything. The Death Eaters are tracking us. You'll just end up killing both of us if you erase our memories."
"Us?" Ron asked, clearly confused. Harry hadn't explained to them about the two muggles that were involved in this mess.
"In my dream," he started, "Dumbledore said there were two other lives that Draco had to protect."
"Me and my mom," Lindsey said, looking up at him. Harry nodded.
"Yeah," he said, suddenly remembering one of the names. The one Draco had reacted to, "Lindsey?"
"Your dream told you my name?" Lindsey asked, puzzled.
"No, well, yes. I don't know, it may not have been a dream. I saw Draco in it, and he was…dying."
Lindsey felt her face pale and looked away from them, "And what's that have to do with my name being involved?"
"Dumbledore was there. He told me two names, but I can only remember yours. You said your mom was involved in this to?"
"Yeah, Malinda," Lindsey said, and added, "She's in the hotel somewhere, I thought she went to get help, but she's taking a long time."
"Well, you need to go get her, I'm not sure how long Draco can hold up," Hermione said, causing everyone to glance at a non-moving, barely-breathing, Draco.
Draco could hear a faint buzzing noise from the world around him as he tried to hang on. Someone had healed him, that much he knew, but he wasn't sure who did it or how they found out. Draco also noted that his arm was burning like it was on fire, but all of the pain was in the back of his mind. Like he was watching himself react to the pain, rather than feel it first-hand.
"I can't get her," Lindsey said, suddenly feeling very protective over Draco as she placed her hand on his. Hermione and Ron exchanged another glance, confused by Lindsey's defensive reaction. Harry didn't say anything, but watched his supposed enemy lie in the grass, death surrounding his very soul.
"It's alright. I'll get her. What's the room number?" Harry said before anyone could reasonably tell Lindsey that she was the only one who was capable of finding her mom.
"603," she replied immediately, "Second floor. She has brown hair and blue eyes. Not much taller than I am." Harry nodded, and left the group, Ron and Hermione gawking at Lindsey.
"Why won't you go find your mom?" Ron asked. Lindsey didn't reply, and watched Draco, her eyes gentle.
"She's your mom!" exclaimed Hermione, clearly troubled, "How could you not want to find her?"
"Draco saved our lives Hermione, I can't forget that," Lindsey responded, her voice not much more than a whisper. Hermione didn't have anything else to say, and put her chin to her knees, resting on the ground next to Lindsey.
"He's still a rotten old git," Ron said, interrupting the awkward silence that hung in the air. Lindsey turned her head to glower at him, but ended up smiling at some thought that crossed her mind.
"You're right," Lindsey said, Ron giving her a distraught look before she continued, "I know he is. Which may be why I can't get away from him." Ron raised his eyebrows while Hermione just stared.
"You're mental," stated Ron, shaking his head disbelievingly.
"Maybe I am," Lindsey said, still smiling. She looked down at Draco again, and placed her hand on the slithering serpent, hoping it would help somehow.
It seemed to do some good, for he twitched one of his fingers at her touch. Draco had indeed felt her hand on his mark, and tried desperately to respond, but wasn't sure if he had actually managed to move his hand or not. A pressure was building in his head, and Draco's thinking was broken, only small, pointless thoughts consumed it.
"Did he just…twitch?" Ron asked, staring at Draco's finger. Lindsey smiled.
"That's a good sign. Well, good for this situation, which is bad," said Hermione, unsure of how to word her sentence properly.
"His mark had been burning almost constantly since we escaped," explained Lindsey, taking a deep breath.
"The entire time?" Ron asked, wonder hidden beneath his concern.
"Almost," Lindsey said. Ron looked down at Draco with a new understanding in his eyes.
Harry returned with Malinda a few moments later, her eyes watery and shaken by Draco's previous state.
Ron and Hermione stared at Malinda, who's hair was once again messed up and her make-up running down her face. Lindsey wasn't surprised, but looked at her mother with sudden sympathy.
"You were actually crying for Malfoy?" Ron asked, his nose twitched up in confusion. He received a painful jab from Hermione's elbow.
"It wasn't just Draco," Lindsey said, nearly inaudible. Ron, Harry, and Hermione all stared at her, Malinda looking down at her shoes.
"Never mind," muttered Lindsey, looking back down at Draco, "We need to get going." Everyone gave her a skeptical look before finally deciding that she was right, Draco was running out of time.
"I'll take Malfoy," Harry said, leaning down next to the nearly-dead body. Carefully, Harry hoisted Draco up, gripping his arm so that Draco could disapparate with him.
Before anyone else said anything, Lindsey walked over to Hermione, grabbing her arm, "You can take me."
Ron, glaring at Lindsey and Hermione, walked over to Malinda, grabbing her arm awkwardly. Without another word, they all started swirling again through a white light. This time, they were going faster than when Draco had taken them, and the entire way was streaked with black lines. It felt, like most magical transportation, as if they were being pulled through a very uncomfortably tight tube.
Draco knew someone was moving him, that he was being apparated, but he couldn't do anything about it. Instead, thoughts of random things ran through his head. The taste of the pumpkin juice at Hogwarts, along with his silly little arm-candy, Pansy Parkinson.
Harry and Draco had nearly fallen over when they arrived in London, staying up only by a brick wall behind them. Draco's head was slumped forward, looking dreadfully boney.
Malinda and Ron had nearly ran into the wall when they appeared, a few seconds after Harry and Draco. Hermione and Lindsey were last, landing more elegantly than the other pairs do to Hermione's better experience.
"Alright, now we need to get back to Hogwarts," said Ron, staring at the bricks, puzzled as to what to do next.
"We can't apparate to and from Hogwarts," Hermione said in a matter-of-fact tone. "It's lucky we were able to leave when we did, using the Room of Requirement."
"Than what are we supposed to do?" Ron asked, his voice higher than usual. No one answered, all of them thinking of various solutions that would not end up doing any good.
"We could go to St. Mungo's," Hermione suggested. Harry shook his head.
"Draco is a Death Eater. They'd never give him the proper care he needs," he explained, trying to think of another idea.
"There was the…the vanishing cabinet…wasn't there?" Lindsey suggested, trying to give some sort of option to the group. No one responded, weighing the dangers of her idea.
"Technically, yes. I don't know if it's still works though. No one's used it for a while," Hermione said, staring off into the bricks.
"It's the only chance we have," Harry said humbly. As if to prove their point, Draco let out a soft moan, not of his own accord.
"We're going to have to go through Diagon Alley," Ron said, "And get to Burgin & Burke's."
"I know, but we don't have another choice," another soft moan came from Draco as Harry spoke, "Come on." Harry shifted under Draco's weight and started tapping bricks with his wand in a pattern-like gesture.
After a few taps, the bricks moved sideways, creating a wide passageway for the group.
"Wait, I think we should put a disillusion charm on, we don't want to be seen, out of Hogwarts, going into Burgin & Burke's," Hermione said hastily, grabbing Harry's arm. She whipped her wand around a few times and they became invisible, all holding onto one another so they wouldn't loose each other due to the camouflage.
Slowly, they began to make their way into the street. Nearly all of the shops were closed, the windows dark and covered in cobwebs. Inside the windowsill, dust particles were visible, collecting on top of the metal and wood.
Not many were outside, and those who were had quickly scurried away from any movement, sound, or feeling. Lindsey had once felt a cold hand touch the back of her neck, only to turn around and find nothing. She thought maybe it was Hermione, but didn't dare ask out of fear for her answer consisting of 'no'.
When they had finally arrived at the little turn that led down Knockturn Alley they, quickly, glanced around cautiously and continued down the steps, the darkness on Knockturn Alley even more noticeable than the depressive feel in Diagon Alley.
After another ten minutes or so of walking, Harry was the first to spy Burgin & Burke's. It was open, a squeaky, rustic sign hanging above the entryway. The curtain's were closed, hanging across the windows like ghostly flags of death.
Very cautiously, Harry placed his hand on doorknob, hoping with all of his heart, soul, and mind, that no one was inside.
An eerie wind blew across Lindsey's shoulder, and she flinched back, causing Hermione to gasp with confusion. Lindsey silently assured her that she was fine by squeezing Hermione's hand gently; she relaxed immediately.
As Harry opened the door to Burgin & Burke's, he felt Draco's warm, frantic breath on his skin, and wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing.
Even the door seemed to let out a sickly moan when it was opened, causing the group to hold their breath (apart from Draco of course). As far as Harry could tell, no one was inside, but held his wand at the ready, just to be safe.
Slowly and carefully, the made their way inside. When Harry was sure that there wasn't anyone in the building, he stopped walking. Hermione took out her wand, muttered a few words, and slowly everyone came back into view, letting go of each other's hands.
Malinda went to go stand by her daughter, who had went over to the cabinet that was sitting on a round, wooden table, collecting dust. Harry, Hermione, and Ron, had all checked to make sure they were okay before following Lindsey and Malinda to the cabinet. Draco was still leaning on Harry, his breath frenzied.
"This better work," Lindsey said, opening the door to the cabinet. Everyone gasped at what lay on the bottom of the cabinet, for no one had been braced for what lay there.
Alright, another chapter up. ^^ Sorry for such slow updates, it's been a hectic week. Please review...means a lot!