Why?
To Kill a Mockingbird"Sometimes the people with the strongest hearts carry the heaviest ones."
Draco swished his wand delicately, murmuring under his breath.
The little girl, no more than six looked up at him, with big eyes the colour of the winter morning sky, and hair unruly and red like russet before screaming and convulsing in pain. It was a high shrill that echoed from the walls of the ballroom shaking Draco right to his bones. From his right shouts hit his ear, muffled noises pleading for him to stop, and it took every muscle in his body to keep his wand straight, and his eyes trained on the small form of crying and thrashing hysterically. The taste of acid coated his tongue and he couldn't afford to do more or to think because everything would go crashing down around him.
The Dark Lord put his hand up, and Draco almost dropped his wand in relief. His wand at his side, he could not his eyes on the little girl.
"Very good Draco" the Dark Lord praised, and Draco" 's head swam dark spots appearing in his vision. From his right, the shouts became louder and clearer, and Draco instinctively turned his head toward the noise. He should have stayed looking at the little girl he broke.
A woman and and man, held back by two of his peers were trashing and shouting frantically, trying to get out of their hold. Their eyes were bloodshot, their screams horse and Draco had to stop himself from visibly reacting. He could do nothing about the hollow feeling in the pit of his stomach. The man, who he assumed was the father, was a tall man with brow hair and a kind face which was now distorted with pain as he tried to wrestle his way to the little girl. The woman, who he assumed was the mother, had ice-blond hair blonde hair like Draco's mother, and eyes brown like Draco's mother, and if he didn't contrate enough she was his mother. The only thing not matching was the look of disgust and disdain on the woman's face, which he never saw from his mother directed toward him. She was screaming, her intent clear and Draco swallowed turning away.
He wanted to curl in on himself.
"You fucking monster" Draco flinched, as the woman's screams pierced through the ringing in his ears "She is five you fucking monster, five years old!"
"Andaline!" The father bellowed " Wake up baby girl," his voice shaking with desperation "Daddy is here, come on wake up for daddy!"
The little girl's limp body didn't even flinch and Draco wanted to vomit.
"Ardaline!" The woman shrieked and Draco took a look back at them. The man grappled desperately with his captor. His eyes, wide with fear and determination, darted around the scene. In a moment of sheer desperation, he managed to wrench one of his hands free, delivering a powerful blow to the Death Eater restraining him. As the assailant recoiled, attempting a counterattack, Ardaline's father deftly sidestepped and delivered a forceful knee to the groin, buying himself precious moments. Draco needed to react to draw his wand, but he could even force himself to breathe. The father, unfazed by the abandoned wand mere inches away from him, sprinted toward his daughter as if pursued by relentless flames. Dropping to his knees beside her lifeless form, he cradled her in trembling arms Ignoring the chaos still erupting around them, he fervently shook her fragile frame, murmuring frantically.
"Baby girl, my little baby girl, come on wake up, wake up for daddy"
Draco's eyes, without permission, slid to the mother, who in the chaos of all got away from the death eater holding her. Later Draco would blame the new recruits who were too distracted to do anything. He would blame the drain the Cruciatus curse had on him because as he saw the woman charging directly at him, he did nothing to stop her fist from hitting him square in the jaw. The pain radiated through his skull, and he took a step back from the surprisingly powerful blow. He held his child, and as he looked back into her mother"s eye the fury he wanted to feel was nowhere and all he felt was shame. The woman took one last look at him and rad to her husband, crying out loud as she held their daughter to her chest.
"See that is what Mudbloods are like " the Dark Lond hissed, casting a disgusted eye at Draco "Feral creatures, not capable of civility" he chucled and Draco felt the bile rise in his throat. He had to get out, now.
"Draco" He strained his spine, pinning his attention to the Dark Lord. His occlumency walls were breaking and he was so afraid of the eyes on him that he felt like he was at a public execution. Maybe he was. The Lestrange ballroom saw enough blood for multiple lifetimes, and the handful of Death eaters and snatchers did not make it less foreboding. Pansy's and Daphne's front was distinguishable from his peripheral and that alone made him want t to crawl his own eyes out.
"Yes, my lord?" He forces himself to answer and see the inpatient in the Dark Lord's eyes.
"You let them" He gestured at the crying family like they were just a mere inconvenience "Treat you this way?"
"No My Lord" Draco answered automatically, his brain bearly catching up with the events around him. His eyes snagged onto the little girl's body, her face calm and peaceful and not twisted with pain anymore. In some deep part of himself, Draco wished that the little girl was already dead. Id she was still alive he wasn't sure she would survive another one.
He wasn't sure he would survive another one.
"Show them how we treat vermin"
Draco's hand shook, and his head felt ready to float off his head his vision tunnelling. He slowly lifted his wand aiming directly at the family, and the words cauth in his throat.
Fuck
"Show them how we like to extricate" The Dark Lord leaned forward, his mouth in a twisted smile.
Draco squared his shoulders and took a deep breath pushing everything back, every memory, every ounce of self and regret as he looked into the father's bright blue eyes.
"Avada Kedavra" He shouted and the green jet streamed out of wand hitting the father in the chest. His body limply fell to the ground his daughter falling from his hands. The woman shrieked, and Draco saw as the little girl stirred. The mother clutched her little girl behind her shielding her with her own body as she was almost fully awake, sitting up and looking at Draco with those eyes.
Draco's eyes locked onto his mother's eyes, which looked back at him with so much distance and bravery Draco had to clench his jaw to keep the vomit from back through his throat.
"Avada Kedavra" He shouted, looking into his mother's face twisted with hate. The woman fell, limp body free of any will, any determination right onto her husband's chest. The little girl sat up fully and Draco choked. Her big eyes were staring into him, and tears were silently streaming down her face. She looked like the sister Draco never had, she looked like Astoria did in her first year, a girl with determination shining in her eyes and long hair standing in every direction and Draco felt himself break somewhere inside.
"I hate you" The little girl's horse voice was bearly above a whisper as it hit Draco and he felt himself smile.
He hated himself too.
"Avada Kedavra" He shouted the final time, and he watched as the light disappeared from the little girl's eyes, and she too, fell to the ground right next to her parents' dead bodies. Draco wanted to believe they would find each other in the afterlife.
He needed to believe that.
"Good job" The Dark Lord praised and Draco wanted to die. He was glued to them, the loving family, that was alive a second ago, the family that died by his wand, the little girl that was barely five and now would not take another breath again.
"You are dismissed." The Dark Lord flicked his wand nonchalantly, and the bodies erupted in flames.
Draco staggered a little heat scorching his face as he got his want out to apparate himself out there but he was sure he was up to it. His hands were clammy and shaking, his head was spinning and the black spots were getting bigger in his vision.
"Draco" Daphne appeared in front of him, and he had to look away from her worried features. He couldn't look at her, not now, not after all this. "Wil you help me apparate away?"
Draco whipped his head back and almost shouted at Daphne. He wasn't in any shape to apparate himself, not to mention someone else.
Daphne looked back at him, not even phased as her mouth moved into a small smile and Draco looked at her like she grew a second head. Then he got it.
He silently nodded, not trusting himself to open his mouth. Daphne silently grabbed onto his biceps, and Draco swished his wand but it was Daphne who dragged Draco into the darkness, her wand, hidden behind her back that actually performed the spell.
As soon as they got spit out into the foyer of Malfoy Manor Draco emptied his guts out into the corner, right next to the Anthurium Veitchii plant her mother always fawored. He heaved like it would dispel what he did like it would get rid of the darkness he had inside himself.
"There, there" Daphne circled his back, Stucyfying the vomit after every heeve. Draco's throat turned, his insides were on fire and whenever he closed his eyes the little girl stared back at him, and he just wanted to die with her.
Following his final bout of heaving, others materialized with loud pops, causing Draco to startle, his teeth clamping down on his tongue painfully. As the violent waves of nausea subsided, Draco's senses gradually returned. He discerned Astoria's soft cries from Pansy's embrace, and a distinctive click signalled that Blaise had extracted the fire whiskey from the concealed compartment in the cabinet he should not have been able to open. Amidst the nervous pacing of Theo and the soothing tones of Daphne's voice, there was a fleeting moment when the situation seemed almost bearable. But the second passed, and he felt the black hole open up in himself again.
Someone showed a whiskey glass in his hands, and as he looked up he only saw Blaise draining his own cup, then filling it to the brim again without hesitation. Draco wordlessly shot the drink back, letting the burn warm his blood, and loosen the tangles in his muscles.
"This is fucking foul" Theo coughed putting his empty glass onto the little decorative table next to the fireplace.
"That is the motto for the day" Daphne declared, downing the glass that seemingly appeared in her hand. and grabbing Draco's clammy hand dragged him into the nearest sitting room. He barely looked over the floor as he fell into the nearest sofa, putting his heavy legs onto the ottoman. Somehow his glass was continuously refilled, and each time, he drank it down without hesitation.
After the third or fourth he did not feel as keen to die. The others were scattered around him, and now he was able to actually look at them without his drinks threatening to clime back his throat. Astoria and Pansy occupied the other side of his sofa, their legs casually intertwined. Anstora's eyes were read, yet her glass was already half empty, and she looked more pissed than sad —a sentiment Draco found easier to handle. Pansy's black bob appeared dishevelled, her arms wrapped protectively around Astoria. Her own glass was nearly empty, and judging by the distinct lipstick mark, Draco was certain it wasn't her first. Daphne took her place in front of them, her legs draping over Theo and Blaise who were both on their third glass of fire whiskey, practically chugging it. Daphne's eyes remained alert but Draco already saw the sheen of alcohol on them. He knew she was more deeply affected than her demeanour let on, but he didn't comment on it, he knew better.
"I fucking hate this job" Blaise mumbled placing his glass on the coffee table.
"It is not a job "Daphne retorted, waving her wand. The fire whiskey bottle slowly levitated to the centre, topping everyone's glass to the brim. "It is a prison" With another flick she returned the bottle back to the table.
"It's life" Draco spat emptying his drink "And we can do fucking nothing about it"
"Don't say that" Astoria pleaded, her hand carefully cradling her dangerously full glass.
"Why?" Draco shot his eyes at Daphne, who without another word poured him another glass that he promptly drained" We cannot fucking kill the Dark Lord, nor can we become bloody Gryffindor do-gooders and join the Order. This is what we are!" He shouted, his hand squeezing the glass in his hand "This is what I am" he whispered
"This is not life" Daphne commented "And you know it Draco. So fucking skip the moaning, we've all done unforgettable shit."
"It is not the same"
"No?"Daphne stood, slamming her glass onto the coffee table with unnecessary force. "So when I have to raid houses and kidnap FUCKING INFANTS FROM THERE CRIBS IS IT NOT THE SAME?!" she shouted, her arms flailing on the side.
"Daph-" Draco stood, trying to talk.
"NO DRACO! "She heeved" You are not the only monster here. How many people did Blaise have to torture to death? HUH? How many times did Theo experiment on a fuking mudblood because he fucking had to? How many times did Pansy deliver slaves to Feninr just to get them fucking raped? How many fucking times did my fucking sister had to kill her friends, just because she was a new recruit? "
"OKAY!" Draco shouted, stepping toward her forcefully "I get it okay!?" He shook his head "But you weren't the one who had to Crucio a five year old and then fucking kill her and her bloody family!" The glass crunched in Draco's hand the shard slicing into his palm.
"BUT I HAD TO STAND THERE AND WATCH YOU DO IT!" Daphne screams, her whole body vibrating with anger. Draco glanced at the wand in her hand and took a careful step back.
"Okay kids calm down" Theo warned butting his eyes up in defeat "Yes we are all monsters, thank you for the presentation now can we go back to drinking ourselves into oblivion or does someone else wanna compare booboo's?"
"Fuck you Theo" Draco spat but sat his ass back down.
"Oh you wish Malfoy" Theo winked, and Daphne burst into laughter, falling back onto the sofa.
Draco attempted to conceal his smile, but the continuous shouting wore him down, and the alcohol was buzzing in his system rather strongly.
"When was the last time you even got a shag Draco?" Astoria sipped her drink, her eyes calculating " You are awfully wound up these days."
"It has to be a while " Blaise commented "There hasn't been a lockdown charm on his floo in ages"
"Oh, did you lose your charm?" Pansy teased, tugging Astoria closer to her
'If you guys are quite finished with discussing my shags" Draco poured another glass for himself, sloshing a few droplets onto his hand.
"No, not yet " Daphne smiled " What happened to the last lost soul? What was her name? Peony?"
"Penelope" Theo laughed into his drink "She was Penelope, one of my colleagues if I mind reminding you"
"Was she the blond one?" Pansy asked her eyes on Draco with clear interest.
"No Honey, it was the one with that awful nose" Astoria looked back at her, placing a soft kiss on Pansy's mouth.
"Oh, that one." Pansy kissed her back" That was awfully a while ago" She shot it at Draco
"It was not tha-"
"It has been 3 months" Theo interrupted him "Which by your standards is way longer than usual"
"What was even wrong with Peony?" Daphne leaned back, her legs now only over Blaise's lap.
"Penelope" Astoria corrected with a giggle
"Other than her nose?" Pansy wrinkled her own in disgust.
"Maybe she was dissatisfactory in bed" Blaise smiled to himself, putting an errand hand on Daphne's calf.
"Oh, I doubt that" Theo took another swing of the bottle that magically appeared in his hand "I happened to be here once when they were at it, and by the lack of silencing charms I had to conduct " He bucked down, barely avoidant the pillow Draco chucked at him "It was more than satisfactory. I was debating joining them but as" Draco threw another pillow in his direction, that he somehow blocked with his hand "the evidence suggests" he gestured at the throw pillow discarded on the ground " I would not have been welcome."
"So Draco, "Daphne turned her focus onto him "what was wrong with her?"
"Nothing" Draco threw his hand through his hair" She was a… nice girl?"
"That bad?" Blaise snorted.
"Okay guys, she was a shag" Draco leaned back, with the mask of indifference in place "Nothing more, I have no idea why she suddenly became so important"
And he didn't even have to lie. Priscilla was a perfectly nice wich, who sucked cock like an angel but had no other qualities Draco treasured. She was an assistant at the laboratory Theo worked at, her job was to file papers, and her brain was capable of nothing more and Draco found her incredibly boring. She just wasn't something he wanted, and he didn't even want a relationship of any form anyway. He wasn't the relationship type. He was a one-time, in rare cases two-time shag type. and the other knew this well. Even Peony knew this when they got involved.
"Anyways, aren't there some scientific studies declaring abstinence good for the mind?" Draco muttered, hoping the conversion would steer from him. He wanted to brood, not to talk about his sex life like bloody fifth-year Gryffindor girls.
"I haven't heard of one yet" Theo mumbled, his eyes going distant "But hey, maybe you can be the experiment?" He sat up straight
"No"
"Why?"
"I won't be your human experiment" Draco looked at Theo with an expressionless look on his face.
"Ugh, you are so boring" Theo rolled his eyes "All day I have to look at bloody bones and dissect them, and I swear to god if I see another femur again im gonna take my own eye out with it"
"Calm down crazy laboratorian, it has to be better than your human trial days" Pansy chuckled, and Theo whitened. Yeah, everybody hated those initial days.
At the start, of the war, the 'New Age' as some call it they haven't been this close. Draco knew Theo and Blaise but in school, he was closer to Crabble and Goyle and left his summer friendships behind in favor of befriending potential bullies. When the battle of Hogwarts was lost, he was already an established death eater even if a shitty one. But Theo and Blaise… they were new.
Theo's father volunteered his son as soon as he could so Draco had to see and both of his oldest friends got their dark marks and watched as their lives fell apart. Theo with his stellar grades and remarkable intellect, found himself assigned to the lab following numerous unsuccessful field missions which resulted in Cruciatius curses that still had their effect on him. He wasn't cut out for raids and missions, and they thought the lab would be better for her, less crude and demanding. They quickly realised that the lower-ranking scientists were involved in human trials and the enforcement thereof. So for months, Theo was a husk of himself, torturing and injecting muggles and mudbloods with various things and Draco and Daphne had to take turns guarding his door, so if he tried anything they could interfere. Drac only got involved after Daphne sought him out and threatened him.
Blaise had only just returned from Italy when the Battle of Hogwarts concluded, and before he could make a swift escape, he found himself permanently marked by one of his mother's lovers, now lying lifeless in some ditch. His was a whole different situation. His cold looks made him a prime candidate, and the Dark Lord quickly put him to use by making him interrogate and torture people. The Blaise who in school had a cool demeanour but behind closed doors saved fucking spiders instead of squashing them. He turned cold, refusing to discuss it, and turned away from them. He wouldn't talk to Draco, or Pansy, and Astoria even tried to get him one-on-one but she was warded out of his house with surprising efficiency. It was Dapne who finally got to him, who one night came out of his room crying, covered in blood and knocked on Draco's room. Draco didn't ask questions, just let her spend the night. He thinks that was the moment they became siblings. when washing the blood of her, and knowing it was Blaise's. After that day Blaise returned, talked, and even though he was never going to be the same they got him back somehow.
"Let's not talk about those days okay?" Astoria asked with a sweet voice "They are behind us"
Draco snorted. They were most definitely not behind them.
"Okay, Mr depression, I propose a cheerier project or I will have to just Avakada myself"
"I'm joining you" Pansy mumbled into Astoria's shoulder
"We can't kill ourselves" Daphne drowned her glass "I mean a group suicide would be fun, but what would happen to the others?"
"What others?" Blaise asked sceptically, his hand stopping on her leg.
"The baby death eaters who would have to take our position"
"Oh Daph, you have too big of a heart" Astoria swished her drink in her glass
"Come on Daph, don't lie, give us the real reason" Blaise leaned forward looking intently at Daphne, who at the attention started swiling her hair around her fingers.
"What if I just don't want you guys to die?"
"I see" Blaise leaned back his eyes not leaving Daphne's.
"And we are talking about my sex life?" Draco muttered and he got a pillow thrown toward his head from Daphne's direction.
"What if we talk bout nobody's sex life?" Theo offers, his eyes darting around the room
"You say that because you have gone abstinent longer than Malfoy," Astoria says, looking at him coyly.
"Hey" Theo's head shot up "You-you don't know, I cou-"
"Dont even try Theo dear" Pansy smiled "I can smell your sexual frustration from here"
Blaise and Mafoy burst out laughing, and Daphny tried to hide her smile behind her glass.
"Laugh all you want" Theo crosses his hand in front of him "I am not the only one without shags" He throws a loaded look at Blaise
"I get women" He shrugs
"Yes sure" Theo snorts "Is that why I haven't seen you with one, like" He thinks, a summarised expression suddenly taking over his face "Ever! " He jumps up pointing at Blaise "I haven't seen you with a woman, or man ever!" He cheers like he won something, and Draco can't help the bubble of laughter escaping his mouth.
"Not everybody parades their achievements around"
"Oh, no no nonoo" Theo flaps "You don't get to be Mr Mysterous now. Either you tell us your last shag " He straightest triumphantly" Or we will have to assume you are still a virgin"
"Oh, stop teasing him Theo" Astoria chimes in and Theo smiled wider
Draco's mouth opened in surprise "Oh my fuck you are a-"
"No, I am no" Blase shuts him down with a firm look.
"Mate, they are starting to convince me too" Draco lifts his hands in defence
"I always suspected" Pansy mumbles with a distant look in her eyes. Draco understood, he was now looking back at their time in school trying to recall any instances involving Blaise and anyone else but he came up with very little. He wanted to attribute this to his vanishing cabinet incident and the fact that by that point he bearly talked to Crabbe and Goyle, and completely ignored the people now sitting around him.
"I am not a fucking virgin" Blaise grinds his teeth together.
"Then whooo waaas you laaast shag?" Theo sings songs, sitting back down on the sofa.
"I am not disclosing my sexual past to you" Blaise crosses his hands over his chest.
"Oh come on" Theo whines " Even if it is not a woman, we are accepting, right? Look at Pans and Astoria!"
"If we even said one bad word we would have been toasted by Pans" Draco mumbles
"And, and look at me" Theo pointed at his own chest" I brought home men before, and none of you had a bad word."
"Oh, we had plenty of bad words" Pansy sneered" The last guy was possibly the wors-"
"La la la" Theo put his hands on his ears "Can't hear you!" He turned back towards Blaise" Come on mate, it couldn't have been that bad!" He gestures at Draco "Look at him, he tried to get with Pansy. And Astoria and they turned out to have the hots for each other instead of him"
"Thank you for the reminder Theo" Draco puts his face in his hands "I really needed that reminder"
"See, it can't be worse than that"
"Theo, let Blaise be" Daphne says and Draco just noticed she haven't talked in a while. Her cheeks were heated and she had a determined look on her face with a sour twist in her mouth " If he doesn't want to share he doesn't have to"
"Hmmm" Theo leaned back "Okay, then you take over. Who was your last shag?"
Daphne becomes seriously still, and Draco seriously needs another drink.
"It-I"
"Come on Daph, either you or Blaise" He holds his hand out "See how nice I am" He loud whispers to Pansy and Astoria who chuckles next to Draco
"I- " She sighs "Okay"
Blaise physically stiffens and Draco should realize something but his brain is not really working since his last glass. Which he is thankful for because now closing his eyes doesn't equal seeing frightened blue ones looking back at him. His body was still taunt, but if he showed hard enough he could kind of pretend this was normal…the fuck was the time anyways?
"It was, ah," She chewed her lower lip "Adrian"
"Pucey?" Theo whistles
"Yeah," Daphne says defeated, looking into her glass.
Blaise downs his glass and fills another one, drinking that in one go too.
"Hey hey, Blaise slow down you are gonna get knocked out" Astoria warns, her own drink sloshing out of her glass.
Blaise just looks at her, then pours another glass and drinks it too.
"Tuchy subject" Theo muttered, and Blaise shot him a deadly look that could have left Theo six feet under. "Okay, okay" he raised his hands in defeat "Im gonna take a smoke and give you guys cool down" Theo stands, with obviously staggering legs and takes a custom pack of cigarettes out, popping one right into his mouth. Draco narrows his eyes, looking suspiciously at the purple leaves poking out of the cig.
"What's in that cigarette Theo?"
Theo stops, looking sobered up and looks down at Draco with a guarded expression. Theo's hand lingers near his wand holster, and he looks like a real Death Eater at the moment.
"Wormwood"
"Good" Draco stand following a surprised Theo out to the little balcony that can be accessed through the little hallways next to the sitting room. Malfoy manner was full of little or secret hallways and balconies barely big enough for two people. Draco ducks out of the little door, following Theo's practice steps and sits down on the little metal chair in the opposite corner of him. The cold bites into his back as he raked his eye over the dark garden of the Manor. He hears the distinct sound of the cigarette being lit, just as the door opens behind them. He doesn't need to glance back to know Blaise was leaning to the wall on Theo's right. Smoke fills the scenery in front of Draco before the cigarette is placed in his hand. Draco put it to his lips and dragged the bitter smoke in, letting it burn his lungs and coat his tongue. He holds it until it feels it it is burning through him until he is almost gasping air before letting all of the air out of his lungs and passing the cig into Blaise's waiting hand and looking back onto the garden.
He grew up right there, learned how to play quidditch, how to even sit on a kid's broom that barely let him fly higher than a meter. He saw his mother's rose bushes he almost crashed into in the third year and the stables his father used to keep their prized horses in for the carriages. When Draco was little, and his father was still kind of himself, he used to tell him stories about pegasus in the Malfoy stables, creatures that flew for kilometres without tiring and were so magnificent people around the world came to see. Once upon a time, Draco believed him, but by now he was sceptical about his father's words.
Somehow the cigarette was in his hand again he dragged the smoke in, holding it until his eyes started to water. He breathed out, watching as the smoke curled around the night and disappeared.
"This is foul" Blaise coughed behind him, showing the cigarette back into Theo's hands.
"You don't have to smoke it" Theo chuckled, breathing a large breath in.
"You could smoke it less" Draco found himself saying.
"You have your fire whiskey " Theo gestured at him "I have this" He dragged in another breath of smoke making a show out of blowing it out.
"You drink fire whiskey too" Blaise mumbled.
"That is what I get from sharing my stash" Theo bristled, but still offered the cig to Draco.
Draco dragged it in, letting it burn, and feeling the effects of it way too strongly due to the copious amount of fire whiskey he had consumed. The garden flowed in front of him, in one blink cloaked in darkness the outlines of trees and bushes barely visible, the second full of sunshine and warmth like it had been on his summers back home from Hogwarts. For a second he glimpsed himself playing in the distant pond alongside the smaller figures of Daphne and Astoria. There he was, on the Quidditch pitch with Theo, Blaise, Crabbe, and Goyle, back when his most significant concern was his grades and the annoyance of Granger outperforming him in potions. The memories flickered, and with another blink, darkness enveloped him, the garden nearly vanishing from sight. He still sensed Blaise and Theo but it was he was the sample feeling of disconnection he felt while heavily occluding, of when he was using leggimency.
Leggimency.
At the reminder in the feeble glow of the solitary lamp, casting just enough light to reveal the gravel road leading to the manor, he swore he caught a glimpse of Granger. Bloody Fucking Granger. He jumped, wanting to get closer but his legs weren't so stable and suddenly he started to plummet to the side. Someone caught him, and he found himself laughing hysterically. This was not funny, but he couldn't stop himself. Bloody Granger there, it would be a bloody suicide, if not utterly impossible. Even while heavily leaning on, presumably, Theo, he still saw her gaze fixed directly on him, those caramel eyes consuming him. He hated those fucking eyes.
He hated that bushy mane of hers that somehow always stood in every bloody direction, that nose that was always scrunched up for some reason, he hated her so fucking much. Even in Hogwarts, she was an insufferable know-it-all. Even in the first year, everybody knew, everybody hated her, but because Potter had a soft spot for idiots she became the fucking fan favourite. Draco still remembered, he fucking never forgot that when the troll broke in, why was Granger in the bathroom bawling her eyes out.
He hated that he still remembered.
He just wanted to see a gobsmacked ghost. His father told him about Moaning Myrtle the previous summer as a tactic to get him scared but he was more intrigued and wanted to see for himself. Neither Crab nor Goyle was with him, he wanted to see alone, and he didn't need anybody to see him get scared by a ghost. He was too proud to let anybody else be there, and he wanted to show them the gosht after he concurred it.
So, when he entered the body girl's bathroom on the wrong fucking floor, right after pep-talking himself for a good minute instead of a ghost he was met with a crying girl locked in an old stall. He should have turned around, leave, and fucking find the right bathroom but he didn't. He was weaker back then and was too curious for his own good. He didn't say anything to the mysterious girl, he didn't dare because, after the third sniffle, he heard frantic mumbling. He inched closer, nearly pressing his ear against the door, attempting to decipher the muffled rants of the infuriating witch inside.
"You are smart, and kind, and" a hiccup interrupted her, "and if they can't see that it is their fault. I am Hermione Gra-nger and I am worth more than this" Another hiccup followed, "I- I- why..?"
Draco froze. The realization that Mudblood Granger was crying in the bathroom should have brought him immense satisfaction. After all, she wasn't deserving of a place at Hogwarts, lacking purity. Yet, before Draco departed, he conjured a tissue - which he had great practice in by that point - and passed it to her under the stall. He was closing the door when the Slytherin Prefect came rushing them to the common room, leaving him with no opportunity to warn Granger about the approaching troll. He still remembered that gnawing feeling in his gut, which had by now become an everyday occurrence.
"Draco!" He felt a light smack on his shoulder. He looked up slowly, and saw Astoria looking at him with slightly wide eyes "You are fucking pissed!"
Draco laughed, he didn't hear Astoria swear much and it was always so funny. She was such a proper girl, unlike her sister, she was raised to be a real wallflower. Still, she looked at him like his mother would have and that, for some fucking reason made him laugh even harder.
"-re not paying attention to me!" She smacked him again, not significantly harder.
"I am, I am" he declared, glancing back at her, attempting to stand upright and appear sober. He thought he did rather well, but Daphne's laugh from his left indicated otherwise. Glancing around, he suddenly realized he had somehow made it indoors and was now stumbling through a hallway adorned with crystal lights.
"I swear to got it you were anybody else" Astoria smiled at him, straightening him.
"But I am not" Draco put his weight on her little form, tugging her close.
"You are heavy you buffoon"
"Hey asshole" Pansy hollered from somewhere behind them "Making a move on my girl once, I can look past, but twice?"
Draco cringed at the memory. It wasn't his worst, not by far, but it does something to one's ego when he finds out the girl he has been shagging (Pansy) is actually a lesbian who would more than love to not see another dick in her life. He eventually moved on; there was a bit of brooding, but it was manageable. After all, his father had plans for him to marry Astoria, who, even then, he recognized as being pretty, intelligent, and the ideal pureblood wife. The thing that Draco's ego could not take was when he wanted to surprise her with flowers after a month of courting, and finding her snogging Pansy like her life depended on it.
"I am not moving on your girl!" Draco turned around almost losing his balance. Shit, he forgot how potent Theo's shit was. Even now he saw Pansy with two heads, and he had to shake his to make the second one go away.
"He would dare to try" Theo laughed ad he fell into the couch, his eyes fixed on the ceiling "He likes his dick too much"
"The shags like his dick too much, they would come after Pansy" Daphne laughed, her head tilted back.
"Why are we again, talking about my shags?" Malfoy asked as he sat on the ground his back to the wall. The room around him span and he had to close his eyes to stop the vertigo.
"It seems they are the daily gossip" Blaise laughed he too, was being swiped out by Theo's cigarette.
"Yes, yes" Astoria sat next to her sister "It is what people write about in society papers"
"People should write about more important things" Daphne commented from somewhere on the left.
"Oh but love letters are so exciting" Theo mused wistfully.
Draco dared to open his eyes, and as the room didn't tilt he felt safe to keep it that way.
"Yes, only if they are not yours," Pansy said sourly.
Theo suddenly sat up, looking at Pansy accusatory. "You have love letters!" He pointed at her.
"I do not" Pansy answered her face murderous.
"Yes, yes" Theo smiled and his eyes slowly glided over to Astroia who was by now as red as a tomato "That is my proof" He smiled a toothy grin and fell back onto the sofa.
"Really Tori?" Daphne looked at her sister "Love letters?"
"We are two unwed witches in a heteronormative society," Astoria said with a straight back "We cannot be seen together all the time, or one might think we have too much free time and deceit to wed us" She bristled with Pansy in toe.
Draco vaguely remembered the Dark Lord forcing some marriages but thankfully he didn't start to implement them fully. Draco was glad that there was no ring on his finger. He couldn't have even started to wonder who would toilet him enough to marry him.
"So love letters it is" Blaise said with curious eyes trained at the sisters.
"Well yes. They are enchanted so only we can read them, and if someone else touches them they incinerate. The are ha-"
Draco needed to learn that trick. His mind raced back to his last letter, warning the order about the raid on one of the biggest supply factories. The uncertainty gnawed at him—did they even receive it? He would only know later in the week when reports would come in about the raid set to occur tomorrow. He was morbidly curious if he was actually writing to an actual Order member or just a Death Eaters posing as allies to unearth potential moles. Still, he felt in his chest someone real was receiving his letters.
The reason for writing eluded him; after all, he was a Death Eater and his first letter got them in so much bloody trouble. When he received the answer he didn't burn it, but he should have. He knew he should have, he should have never looked back, but when he heard about the plan to burn down one of the biggest food supplies to the Order, the small piece of paper seemed to burn a hole in his pocket, compelling him to act. And still, instead of burning it, or throwing it into the bloody loo, Draco found himself writing on it once more and sending it with an unmarked owl.
"Draco are you still with us?" He heard the faint voice of Astoria in his perifial.
"Yes, Yes" he slurred, knowing he was about to pass out. He really hoped this shit wouldn't make his nightmares worse, or he would fucking choke Theo in his sleep.
"He is totally out" Daphne snorted and Draco really wanted to chuck a pillow at her, but he was so fucking comfortable he really didn't want to move.
"At least he is having fu-"
Draco woke with the most horrible headache to mankind, in the biggest mess he ever saw, and with drool stuck onto his face from sleeping on the fucking floor. The day that started so shitty could only end shitty.
Around him the others were still passed out, Pansy sleeping sitting up, Theo's head perilously close to tumbling off the sofa. Daphne peacefully slumbered with her head nestled in Blaise's lap, both blissfully unaware of each other. As he looked out it was already almost sundown and he wasn't that surprised. Last night they arrived well after midnight and stayed up for even later. Surveying the room once more, he spotted Astoria standing in the doorway, tightly gripping a letter. His heart sank. If she fucking got the response to his letter…
"Fuck" Dracomumbles and scrambled to stand, fast steps leading him to Astoria.
"Holy Merlin!" Astoria turned frantic eyes on Draco "You scared me" She hastily tucked the letter behind her, as though hiding it from view would somehow conceal its contents.
"What do you have there?" Draco stepped closer, trying to look over her shoulder.
"Nothing" She shrilled, casting worried eyes at the sleeping form of Pansy.
"Do you want me to wake her up?" Draco whispered and took a step toward Pansy
"No, no no no" Astoria whisper shouted grabbing Draco's arm "Draco Malfoy I am not a violent woman but if you wake her"
"Yes?" Draco turned his head, and with one swift movement got the letter out of Astoria's hand.
Raid Admission in the subject of raid: BRM
to: Astoria Lenore Greengraas
Date: 25/02
Time: Midnight - Arrive by 7 at meeting point
Meeting: Lestrange Manor - Silver room
"Fuck" Draco looked back at Astoria who now had a determined look on her face.
"I just got the paper this morning. And I do not intend to tell anybody about this" She tore the paper out of Draco's hand, folding it carefully.
"You cannot be serious" Draco tries, his headache thining his patience.
"I am completely serious Draco. I cannot be babied anymore. What happens - " Her eyes took on a sheen Draco knew the way too well "What happens if you guys die, or we get separated, or I actually have to go on admission alone?"
"You won't be alone"
"You sound just like Daph," She uttered with a defeated tone. " Draco, I need to go. I haven't been on a mission in months and people are getting suspicious."
"I don't care about people"
"I already said I would go"
"What?" Draco's blood chilled.
"I just came back from the owlry. I just need to change and get going or I am going to be late"
"No" Draco grabbed her hand "You can't go"
"Yes, I can, and will" Astoria turned around tearing her hand out of Draco's grip and marched out of the room.
"Fuck" Draco brathed. He really fucked up. He sprinted after her, grabbing her shoulder and turning her around to face him "I'm going with you"
"Don't be crazy Draco, it is a low-level mission you are everything but low-level. Anyways, what could happen?"
Everything. Because Draco warned the Order anything and everything could happen and it would be his fucking fault.
"Don't look at me like I'm going to die " Her face softened "It is the most simple raid, you guys have gone through so much worse"
Daphne would kill him. Pansy would kill him. Even Blaise and Theo would gut him if anything happened to Astoria because of him.
"I am going," Draco said slipping his wand out of its holster and summoning his robe and mask he used to wear as a low-level Death Eater " Either that or I'm waking the girls" He raised a challenging brow.
"I never wanted a brother you know" Astria breathed summoning her own robes with a small smile on her face " A sister was more than enough to handle"
"Get moving or we will be late" Draco walked, and hoped, really fucking hoped they would find an empty factory and nothing more. Pulling his mask on he grabbed a hand full of floo powder and stepping into his fireplace followed directly to the fucking meeting room. He was already pissed, he was hangover as fuck and he really did not need a mission today. Especially not one with Astoria in it.
Stepping out of the fireplace he took big steps not even looking back to see if she was there. He knew she was, she had to be and he couldn't look like he was affiliated with her so this would be so much harder than it has to be. Navigating through the crowd assembled in the meeting room that strongly reminded him of the ballroom downstairs and saw Rabastan Lestrange at the centre of the circle he could barely suppress a visible reaction. He was a shot man, with thick black hair a sharp, cold features that exuded an unsettling and malevolent aura.
He knew that with Rabastan in charge, the mission would be a shitshow no matter what happened. The inexperienced recruits, barely maintaining their balance and shuffling around him, did little to boost his confidence. This mission was either a straightforward training exercise or one that would get most of them fucking killed.
"Now that everybody arrived" Rabastan draled, waving his wand in the air to summon a silhouette of the holding facility they would target.
Great
Draco already knew the plan, he was there when it was discussed with the Dark Lord himself. Scouts go in, put up anti-apparition wards, then they surround the building secure the 3 entrances it has, and then go in. According to their scouts, there are barely any guards, maybe five, but looking at the size of the group they would outnumber them easily. The plan is to take anything that could have some worth, and then burn the whole place down. Because if the Order can't feed itself it is dead.
As Lestrange continued to drone on about the details, it felt as if knives were being ruthlessly thrust into Draco's ears. The numerous entrances became a hazy blur in his mind, and he found others around him disoriented by the shifting surroundings not once but twice. By the time Rabastan finally articulated the plan, a palpable sense of confusion permeated the air, and Draco could feel it settling in.
This was going to be a shitshow.
He glanced at the form of Astoria, her mask up, and small frame a few bodies away from him. She was avidly paying attention but he did not miss the nervous twitch of her hand, and the death grip she had on her already drawn wand. She never liked Rabastan, nobody did but he had some morbid fascination with Astoria and unlike his brother he had no wife to rain him in.
"Group one" he gestured with his wand, cutting lines through the crowd. "Group two" and just as Draco prepared to move, "Group three" - the line was inches from his face. He glanced at Astoria and realized she was in a different group and he could barely contain the swearing threatening to come out. He already needed another drink and he was barely sober to start with. Astoria looked at him once more before vanishing into the crowd, and Draco already hated the mission.
"I will see you on the other side" Rabastan smiled with a disgusting look, and Draco apparated away before he could hear the rest.
The city he appeared in was abandoned, with the wind screaming loudly and chill settling into his bones after his second step. He moved with the others, climbing into an abandoned building across the street from the factory. Inside the small house, the air was thick with the musty scent of mould, as the dust settled upon the furniture. Faded floral wallpaper peeled from the walls, tattered curtains hung limply, their once-vibrant patterns now muted by time and neglect. A sense of suspended time lingered in the rooms, where a child's toy lay forgotten on a sun-faded carpet, and a kitchen, frozen in time, revealed a table still set for a hastily abandoned meal. Draco pushed back the unnerving feeling and marched toward the window looking at the building.
"Is this where we are supposed to be?" A no-name Death Eater asked him, and he just hummed wishing to science all conversation. He needed to see if anything happened, and he never took his eyes off the windows of the old factory. He knew Astoria's team was in the building across from them, and he would kill himself before not paying attention to them.
"What are we waiting for?" The guy whispered next to him, and Draco had to stop himself from shunning him.
Something was off.
Draco looked sideways, and in of of the dark windows he swore he saw movement. HE whipped his head and willed the shape to move again, to let it be a guard, or a curtain or something but as he saw the second shape, and a distinct bushy main he knew they had been compromised.
He had to get to Astoria ASAP. He turned but didn't even get to take a step before a jet of light flew past him and hit the guy with him in the chest.
Fuck
He ducked, seeing the spells fly over him, and he heard the shouts rising around him. Once the assault on his lessened, without thinking he ran and jumped out of the second-story window hoping nobody would get him in the air. He quickly cushioned his fall and continued to run. The shortest route to Astoria was right through the factory, and even if he had to fight his way through it, he would fucking get there.
He ducked, and shot spells toward the windows, dodging the misfired spell from his side together with the one actually aimed at him. Most were engaged in battle outside but the flashing lights inside told him enough Death Eaters already got in and were holding their ground somewhat successfully. He immobilised an Order member running directly towards him and before he could second guess himself, he climbed in the punched-out window, not caring that she shart was shredding hid robes. The cold air stang on his frens would but he could not afford to stop. The skeletal frame of the factory stood in stark contrast to the pristine white blanket that carpeted the floor, creating a haunting tableau of decay frozen in time. Looking up, Draco saw the hole in the ceiling where remands of snowflakes drifted it giving an eerie quality to the place. He saw boxes over boxes, and in the distance heard the shouts of spells firing everywhere. He slowly crept forward, his legs crunching in the snow. In there it was much more quieter, and as he crept towards the sound he really did hope he could do this south any bullshitting.
That hope died the moment Granger jumped out from behind a rusted crate, unleashing a hex with a swift motion. He jumped dodging it, instincts kicking in as he swiftly conjured a protective shield. The clash of spells resonated in the air, as he deftly manoeuvred, countering the surprise attack with a well-timed spell that caught Granger off guard. He could barely see her in the dark, her unmistakable hair kept back in a thick braid, her breath fogging the air in front of her and her eyes, looking at him, calculating every step. This time, he was really glad she didn't know who he was.
"Stupefy" He bellowed firing a spell towards her form, already reading the next one. He needed to take her out, quickly.
"Expelliamus" she shrieked in response, and Draco barely got out of range of the spell. The tension in the air crackled as he retaliated with "Petrificus Totalus," narrowly missing Granger's arm. Time was slipping away as the fight outside became louder. Astoria needed him.
He did not notice the next spell whirling toward him until it was almost too late. With a sidestep, he narrowly avoided the attack, but it tore the mask from his face and plummeted him to the ground
That is for anonymity.
"Malfoy?" She gasped, taking a step backwards her eyes widening in surprise.
"Bloody Hell" He muttered, standing up quickly and hurling another spell toward her. Her eyes narrowed, and her mouth sneered as she blocked and practically sent his own spell toward him. He jumped, barely catching balance on a crate and his blond hair obscured his vision.
"I don't want to kill you" He straightened shooting another Expelliamus toward Granger.
"Yes, because I believe that" She blocked, counterattacking "Do you think I'm that stupid?!"
"I certainly hoped" He mumbled, blocking her spell. He was out of time, but if he ran, she would fucking follow. He started plummeting her with spells, barely giving her enough time to block them, and not giving her the opportunity to fury anything back.
"Petrificus Totalus" He yelled and by some miracle the spell caught Granger, and she fell into the snow stirring the flake around her. Draco grabbed his wand, and before taking off in a run he stopped beside Granger's form. Her face was frozen in shock, but her eyes still told him everything he needed to know. He crouched next to her face, leaning so close he saw the panic in her eyes.
"Be glad I am in a fucking hurry" he whispered "Or you would be dead meat"
He straightened and without a second glance at her abandoned in the snow, he sprinted away. He really needed to find Astoria. He needed a mask and swiftly took one from a fallen Death Eater amid the snowy landscape. He weaved through the labyrinthine crates, his breath visible in the cold air, until he found the fight happening in the middle of the factory. From somewhere he smelled smoke, and he needed to get her out of they would become ash really quickly.
He scanned the ground looking for her small form, of a glimpse of her blond hair amid the black form of the fighters. He saw order members left and right, their faces scrunched in determination. Draco knew most of them, if not from school he met most of them on the battlefield meaning they were planning to capture as many of them as they could, and if they got Astoria he would burn them all to the ground.
He was on the brink of throwing himself into the fight when on his right his eyes caught on a form running away from the fray. He only saw familiar blond locks before the figure disappeared into the crated but he didn't need more. He shook his frozen hand and disillusioned himself, creeping on the side of the battlefield. His steps were quick but measured, and as soon as he got to the opening the figure disappeared and he broke out into a run.
A shout caught his ear, and he pushed himself harder. He needed to get her out.
Turning on the corner a scene welcomed him he whistled to never see. Astroa, her hair unbound the mark discarded was in a duel with one of the Order members Draco vaguely recognised. The fire was consuming the crates around them and melting the snow into puddles. The guy screamed in heavy Irish accend, and assaulted Astroia with an onset of spells. Draco took a step forward but Astoria jumped, while simultaneously shooting a hex that caught the guy in the shoulder. He staggered back, holding his wand in the other hand.
"Get away!" Astoria screamed and Draco's legs rooted in their palace "I don't want to hurt you, please just tell the others to get back!" The fire cracked our them, and Draco felt this mark faintly burning and the anti-apparition wards getting lifted.
"Feck you think I am" The guy spat, and hurled another spell toward Astoria catching her in the side. She fell, and Draco was startled out of his surprise. He raised his wand, but from his right a green spell shot forward before he could mutter a spell, killing the guy in a second. Draco whirled his eyes to the side, and the chill settled in his bone as he saw Rabastan leaning down to Astoria, and forcefully grabbing her.
"You are coming with me" he whispered, and before Draco could reach apparated away,
"FUCK" Draco shouted, as he dragged his sleeve up, and palace his wand onto his dark mark, apparating to the Lestrange ballroom.
Rabastan was fisting Astoria by her hair, dragging her along the clear marble floor of the ballroom. Blood dripped for a would on her side, leaving a training behind them.
Draco clenched his jad and hat to use all of his self-control to not kill Rabastan in front of the Dark Lord and the other death eater popping up around them. There were too many people there, even Bellatrix was smiling madly next to the throne of the Dark lord, her eyes trained on Astoria's struggling form. Even if Draco got to Rabastan, and dodged the Dark Lord his aunt would gut him and serve his organs to the hounds. He needed a plan, really fucking fast, of this would get ugly really fucking fast.
"What do we have here?" the Dark Lord asked leaning back into his throne, his eyes cast down towards the commotion in front of him. His dark robes were pristine, which was a chilling contrast to their bloodied and dusty looks. His medallion glinted in the candlelight, and Draco swore it was different than he saw last time.
"My lond" Rabastan bows his head, throwing Astoria to the ground with a loud thud "This bich "He gestures toward Astora "is a traitor, she-she"
"Rabastan" The Dark Lord scolds "Those are really big accusations, don't you think?"
"I have proof" Lestrange almost shouts his eyes frantic "Look into my memories my Lord, I give them to you freely! You will be able to see everything that happened, I have the proof."
The Dark Lord only smiled before lazily raising his wand and breaking into Lestrange's head. To his credit, he just fell onto his knees with a grunt, but Draco hoped it hurt like a mother fucker because if not he would make it hurt. He slowly crept closer, willing Astoria to look at him.
"I see" The Dark Lord slowly looked over to Astoria who by nod sat up, and bowed to him "Do you have anything to add Ms. Greengrass?"
"No, my Lord"
The fuck not. Draco almost shouts.
"I see I see" Draco froze and prayed to any higher power "Well, I am in a generous mood today, the raid was successful wasn't it?" The Dark Lord smiled, and Draco's stomach dropped. He is only generous about violence, and Astoria cannit handle fucking torture. If she has to be Crucioed more than once she would break and Draco cannot watch and do nothing. He looked over the room again noticing that from somewhere Theo and Balise showed up, their eyes not so subtly frantic. He did not see Pansy of Daphne but they would figure things out soon enough and he needed to end this well before that. Somehow.
"Because it was Rabastan's mission you betrayed, it is only appropriate he is the one giving your punishment, don't you think?"
Astoria only whimpered and Draco felt bile raise in his throat. He knew the Dark Lord's punishment, but he didn't know Rabastan, at least not enough to calculate his response.
"Let this be a gift for you Rabastan, for your service" The Dark Lord smiled showing off his black rotten teeth.
Rabastan smiles and gingerly takes a step closer to Astoria who scurries back, her eyes finally landing on Draco with a panicked expression. Draco instantly steps forward and the Dark Lord's eyes snap to him predatory.
"Everybody except Lestrange's chosen ones is dismissed. His punishment is..rather private isn't that correct?" He smiled and Draco felt his insides hollow out.
"Yes, my lord" Rabastan bowed and looked over the crowd "Antonin, Rodolphus, Avery, Yaxley"
"Yaxley is dead" Dolohov stepped ahead, his eyes raking over Astroia's form hunryly.
"Well " Rabastan shrugs " Too bad for him"
"You are dismissed" The dark lord announces, his eyes not leaving Draco"s and even though Draco was wearing a mask, somehow he suspected the Dark Lord exactly knew who he was.
Somehow he makes his body turn and slowly leaves the ballroom. He barely gets past the door when Blase and Theo grab onto him and tug him to the side. A silencing charm forms around them and he tears the mask off his face.
"The fuck happened!?" Theo's frantic eyes search his. He looks frazzled Robes but on wrong hai stanging in every direction, purple circles under his eyes.
"Pansy and Daphne can arrive at any second if you need our help, talk. Now." Blaise orders in the tone he uses for interrogations. He doesn't look much better than Theo one part of his hair is flat, and his depp skin is ashen.
"She got a mission and refused to back up. I went with her so she doesn't kill herself, met with some order members, Rabastan saw her let an order member go because she couldn't kill them"
"Fuck" Theo muttered, his eyes glancing at the big doors behind Draco.
"Where is she?" Pansy's shriek hits Draco's ear and he gets his wand out of the holster, gripping it.
"Draco Lucius Malfoy" Daphne stops in front of him, murder in her eyes. "Where the fuck is my sister?"
Right on cue, Astoria's screams echo through the hall the big door barely doing anything to muffle them. Daphne and Pansy charge at the same time, and Draco with the help of Theo and BLase hold them back. Pansy is thrashing in Draco's and Theo's hands, and Draco wishes nothing more than to charge in there and kill every one of them but he can't. Fuck.
"Stop!" Astoria shrieked and Pansy somehow swiftly drew her wand, fixing it firmly on Draco. Acting on instinct, he lunged forward, his fingers closing around her wrist in a vice-like grip. With a forceful twist, he disarmed her, the wand clattering to the ground.
"What are doing to her?" Daphne wrestled Blaise, tears lining her eyes.
"We don't know" Theo whispers and cringes when loud crying echoes through the door.
"Please, please, please stop "Astoria sobs "Just torture me, Crucio me please" She begs and Draco goes rigid his hands almost letting Pansy's wrist go.
"They aren't Crucioing her?" Pansy asks without any emotion and Draco is not sure if his survival is more realistic here, keeping Daphne and Pansy out or in front of the Dark Lord inside.
"Then wa-?" Theo asks but the word is stuck in his mouth.
Astoria's cries start out again, but now with a sickening wet sound, that pounds again, again, and again.
"No,no,no,no no" Daphne collapses in Blaise's hand, tears streaming down her face.
Astoria screams, and under the wet sound, he can hear male grunding.
"No" Pasny whisperes and charges again. This time Draco and Theo both hold onto Pansy, barely holding her back. "LET ME THE FUCK GO!" she shrieks, and the only thing saving them at the moment is the silencing charm around them "LET ME THE FUCK GO!" she creams again and Draco holds on tighter trying to close the cries out.
"I can't" Draco grunts, his hands already cramping. He looks over at Theo whose eyes are tearing but he is still holding Pansy.
"THEY ARE FUCKING RAPING HER!" She creams and Draco feels like he lost his footing.
"I am sorry" he whispers, hugging Pansy to himself.
"They are" her voice wobbles" raping her" She starts sobbing. Draco gets his arms around her and lets himself feel it. He can't. He carefully lifts his wand and whispers, knocking Pansy out cold.
"We need to get home before they discover we are here," Blaise says, and Daphne looks up at him in disgust
"No" she says stepping away from his embrace "We are not fucking leaving her"
A shriek pierces the air, and she starts sobbing again.
"Yes" Blaise looks at her with a cold expression "She wouldn't want you listening, and we need to be there when she gets home.
"Why the fuck aren't we just charging in?" Theo asks, his eyes frantically jumping from one person to the other.
"Because we wouldn't win" Draco says, scooping Pansy up in his arm "And the best fate we would get is to get killed"
"So we are just leaving her?" Theo steps forward, his wand gripped in his hands.
"Yes," Draco answers.
"No" Daphne cries, but the fight is lost in her. Blaise slowly steers her toward the floo, and Draco drags Theo with himself. They floo home, and at the site of the living room Draco almost breaks. The sitting room is like they left, pillows everywhere, the glasses from last night still scattered around like nothing is fucking happening.
He took in a deep breath and pushed everything black. Into a box, a box into a corner, into a deep room in the wing of the manor he never visited.
Robotically he placed Pansy onto one of the couches, and with his wand started to clean up. Blaise steers Daphne towards the rooms, and Draco is aware of THeo lighting a cigarette inside and walking toward his room in the manor.
He just cleans, putting everything back, hiding the fact of the last night, hoping if he did it would feel like nothing happened. He summons his medical bag, and potions lining them up and getting them ready.
"You got a letter" Draco jumps at the sudden voice behind him aiming his wand in instinct. Luna stands in the doorway her big eyes on the medical supplies laid out, and slowly dragged them to Draco's form. She wore clean pyjamas, with magical shackles on her wrists and ankles and held a folded paper in her hands, "You are bleeding, but not that much"
"They are not for me" Draco answered tightly. Luna shrugs and holds out the letter for him "I didn't open it" She smiles faintly
With a forceful tug, Draco wrests the letter from her grasp, and by the time he looks up she is gone. and as he unfolds the letter he feels like its message describes his life with eerily accuracy.
The single word escapes his lips in a plaintive whisper.
Why?