[Chapter Twenty-four] Heart of Darkness
Astoria stood in the dark cave before the lake. The water was cloudy and green.
Nobody will think to check for me here.
The girl groaned. She hadn't expected there to be a moment for her to talk. She just needed time to work this out. There was some way to lie her way out of this. She needed to be in the Inner Circle. And tonight had been her only chance. None of the other followers would been so easy to incriminate.
The girl brought her hand to her face. Suddenly the entire cave lit up. The source of the light was impossible to see, blinding Astoria in a fit of radiant light. The girl appearated outside of the door, and she was in blackness again. What the hell was that? As an answer, she heard the voices of two men.
"Lena..."
Her head was pressed against something hard, and her body was rocking. A tear fell on her cheek and she sprang up from his arms.
"LENA!"
Lena looked at him carefully. He was absurdly gorgeous. She felt like she had met him before, but she couldn't place where.
"I'm sorry...do I know you?"
A heavy necklace weighed down on her neck and as she looked at it, she saw it was a locket. Ignoring the boy who held her for a moment, she opened it carefully, and saw that it was empty. Lena? Am I Lena?
"I won't let him find you, Lena. I'll protect you; whatever I have to do." The boy wasn't speaking to her, he was talking to himself.
Lena made a Horocrux...Draco Malfoy thought as he searched endlessly for that filthy blood traitor. It had only been a week since Lena's death and rebirth. Maybe I should go back to check on her...It seemed as though the locket had preserved the childlike innocence and naivety of Lena.
It's better that she doesn't remember. Nobody but me truly cares about her. Her own parents, the Dark Lord, all of the Inner Circle, her distant relatives had disowned her the moment the Dark Lord accused her of the crime.
Of course, she had committed something atrocious in the Dark Lord's eyes. She would have known from the beginning that it was death to hold that locket for Regulus.
Maybe I'll look for him when I'm done with Astoria Greengrass.
As the night crept on, Draco appearated back to the cabin in the woods. When he entered, he panicked, not seeing Lena. But as he calmed, he saw her asleep in the bed. He had been sleeping on the worn down couch in the small living area, being that Lena didn't remember him.
One day her memories will come back, he had assured himself, many times. And even if she didn't, he was wholeheartedly willing to start anew with her.
Hovering over the bed, he stroked the girl's hair behind her ear, feeling her smooth skin. Silently, he made a promise; I will get the revenge on everyone who has done this to you. Out loud, he voiced a different promise: "I'll protect you forever, Lena. I'm yours forever, and you're mine."