Surviving Malfoy _ Part II : Anger and Depression
Mazzy Star 'Into Dust' - Like Two Strangers
Chapter 6:
I find my mother standing by the living room window when I come downstairs the next morning. She stands perfectly still, arms crossed over her chest and a cup of cold tea in one hand. She's looking out of the window onto the quiet street outside, where two gardeners busy themselves in our neighbour's yard. She doesn't move when I come up beside her, nor when I shoot her a quizzical look.
"What's wrong?" I finally say.
Still, she doesn't look away from the window. "No gardener in their right mind would use oil sprays on plants in this heat."
I pause, frowning at her before directing my gaze at the two men outside. They seem perfectly normal at first glance, but the longer I look at them, the more something feels off.
"They're too old to be Stan." I muse. I haven't seen Stan myself, but Austin gave us an extensive description last night before he'd hurried off, straight to MACUSA.
"Do you see that flask?" She nods at an opaque water bottle, sitting on the ground between the two. I nod. "They've been taking sips from it. Never full gulps, just little sips every once in a while."
"Polyjuice potion?" I ask.
"It's possible," my mother shrugs.
"What are we looking at?" Debbie appears, placing herself on my mother's other side.
"Mom thinks they might be Death Eaters," I say, pointing at the neighbour's garden.
My mother justifies herself. "They've been here since seven in the morning, and they've barely done any work."
"In this heat?" Debbie asks incredulously.
And then it strikes me why they looked so odd. "It's almost a hundred degrees out there and they're dressed in all black," I say.
"Long sleeves, no hats… Should we call Austin?"
My mother shakes her head. "Not yet, they can't get in here anyway and they might just be suicidal gardeners. Let him know when you see him tonight though." She finally turns away from the window and nods towards the kitchen. "There's tea if you want any," she says, before walking up the stairs to her bedroom.
Debbie and I exchange a sour look. My mother spent an hour lecturing us after we'd been dropped off last night. Austin explained the situation to her, telling her it would be best if none of us left the house for now. She had finally let him into the confines of the Fidelius Charm, while Casper was made to wait outside in the car, engine idling, looking around nervously. I have completely bid my freedom goodbye since then. I am of age now, my mother realises that, she's told me so repeatedly. But I also appreciate the fact that I may not be as safe as I thought I was.
And so, we don't leave the house. Debbie has called Casper, to see if there were any suspicious men outside her house as well that morning and he confirmed our suspicions. My mother refuses to let Debbie go home on her own, insisting instead that Casper come pick her up, apparating here rather than driving. Casper isn't the biggest fan of apparition as it is, he dropped off my bag and picked up Debbie, visibly nauseous, but he wouldn't dare argue at my mother's stern look.
She is tight-lipped as it is, but the situation doesn't improve throughout the day. She spends it pacing around the house like a caged animal, stopping in front of the living room window periodically, casting suspicious looks at the two men outside. They don't move until late into the afternoon, seemingly trimming the same oleander bush over and over again.
I spend my time sitting on the couch, looking out of the window at those two same men. They seem inconspicuous enough. They barely ever look up, not at any passers-by, not at any noises and least of all at our house. Or where our house would be, would they have to guess where it is.
I'd been sitting in my spot for a full four hours when I finally grow tired of it. My mother has passed by the window countless times, barely acknowledging me, so I get up and creep up the stairs into my room, quietly shutting the door behind me. My only window looks out towards the back of the house, so I no longer can see the neighbour's front yard. I take a deep breath of relief. Anxiety has settled itself in the pits of my stomach as I sat on my mother's couch, only appeased by the knowledge that whoever these people are, they can't see us.
I dig out Hermione's coin, still unchanged since last Sunday, and hesitate for just a moment before picking up my wand.
There are Death Eaters in N.O.
No, I'm not certain our neighbour's gardeners are here to harm us in any way, but considering Austin's revelation, it is safe letting Hermione know. I don't want to alarm her, but I need her to be aware. The Death Eaters have managed to infiltrate the US, clearly, they are getting more powerful.
Half an hour passes and still I receive no answer back from Hermione. I'm not all that worried - Ron's brother is getting married today; they are busy. My attitude only changes when I notice a faint red glow emanating from my open desk drawer. I'm holding Hermione's coin, so it could only be one other person. I pull out Draco's coin and immediately frown at the cryptic message.
He's safe.
Puzzled, I let myself sink back into the pillows on my bed, staring at the coin for a while on the off chance he would send a clearer message. Once I'm sure there's nothing more to come on its own, I reluctantly answer.
What do you mean?
Your brother.
It's instant. He's been waiting for my answer, and I almost drop the coin when it heats up in my hand. His message isn't much clearer than the last, but it makes my skin crawl.
Explain.
There was a coup.
Fuck.
"Mom!" I bellow as I jumped up from my bed. I tear my door open and thunder down the stairs, heart hammering in my chest I make it to the kitchen before my mother can even respond.
"What happened?" Her face freezes when she sees me.
I drop the coin on the kitchen table in front of her and her expression darkens. She picks up the coin, motioning me to sit down as she walks over to the telephone on the wall. I don't sit. I can't sit. Instead, I position myself next to her, hoping to catch a word of what will be said on the other end of the line. My mother dials, giving me a stern look.
"Is Austin there?" She asks the moment the phone stops ringing. I can't hear what is being said, but the pursing of my mother's lips tells me the answer is negative. "Do you know how I can reach him?" She pauses, then. "We have a bit of a situation here."
Understatement of the year. I wave my hand in front of the receiver, gesturing at her to pass it to me.
"Hold on, Jay wants to talk to you." She passes me the phone and crosses her arms over her chest instead, not leaving my side.
"Hello?" I say.
Casper's deep voice greets me from the other end of the line. "What kind of a situation?"
"I just got a message," I say.
"From who?" His voice darkens considerably.
"It said there was a coup," I carry on, ignoring him.
"Was this from Malfoy?"
Still, I ignore him. "Do you know how I can get in touch with Austin?"
"He's at work," Casper says. "I can send him an owl, but if there really was a coup, he probably already knows."
I groan inwardly. "Can you let us know when he gets home?"
Casper pauses, "Jay."
"Cool, call me back." I hang up.
"They're safe," my mother says, her tone clearly trying to reassure me, but I can tell she is unsure herself. "Hermione messaged you, I'm sure they're fine."
She hasn't been the one to message me though, has she. I bite my thumb. "Yeah." I mutter. I hold my hand open, letting my mother drop Draco's coin into my hand. "I'll be upstairs, let me know when they call back."
Back in my room, I close my door softly again and immediately rush to Hermione's coin, erasing my last message.
Are you okay?!
I carefully put both coins down on my desk, message-side up so I can be perfectly sure I won't miss anything important from either Hermione or Draco. My anxiety rises by the second, I can barely sit still. It feels like five years have passed, but in reality, it's only been five minutes when I hastily wave my wand over Draco's coin again.
Hermione? Ron?
Please know... I bite my thumb again, my leg restlessly tapping against the leg of my desk.
Safe.
I let out a breath of relief. Why I decide I trust him, I'm not sure. But I can't see what he has to gain from lying to me. I take another deep breath before I respond.
How do you know?
His next message is so long, it curls itself twice around the edges of the galleon. And it makes my blood run cold.
He made me torture the guys who let them escape.
I frown at it in disgust, yet all I am feeling is pity for Draco, and the tiniest bit of relief. Still, he has no point in lying, and if what he says is true, Hermione, Harry and Ron haven't been captured. Or worse.
Hermione's galleon finally glows.
All okay.
Harry and Ron? I shoot back immediately. Hermione, thankfully, is just as quick to answer.
They're fine.
Are you safe?
We think so.
"Jay?" My mother's voice comes from the hallway outside.
"Yes?" I call back.
She pushes my door open, that same stern look on her face she's been sporting all day. "I need you to pack our bags." My mouth falls open, but before I can say a word, she lifts a piece of parchment. "Austin just sent me an owl. He brought Poppy and Violet to Salem, they need us there."
I close my mouth again, nodding. "I'll be down in a sec."
I let out a puff of air as she closes my door again. I've been fidgety for days and none of this is helping. I pull out my suitcase from under the bed, haphazardly throwing my belongings into it. The two coins are still laying on my desk, unchanged. I glance down each time I pass them, only stuffing them into a side-pocket on my rucksack once I've packed everything else. I try not to think too much as I lug my bags down my mother's stairs. She is already standing at the bottom, matron's cloak dutifully around her shoulders, in a hushed conversation with Austin.
"We're apparating," he says to me once I've made it. "I'll put you two under a disillusionment charm."
I shoot a quick glance at the living room. "Are they still outside?" I ask.
"One of them is," my mother answers.
"And I'd rather not bet on what the other one is doing," Austin says darkly. "Ready?" He taps his wand on the top of my head, and I feel a cold shower run down my back. He repeats the motion on my mother, and she blends into the background almost seamlessly.
I help him shrink our luggage, lightening it enough so he can fit them comfortably in the pockets of his cloak. My mother and I put our hands on each of his shoulders and follow him out the door. Almost immediately, I feel the familiar squeeze of apparition and a moment later, we stand on the sidewalk in front of the magnificent mansion of Salem.
I let go of Austin's shoulder and push open the wrought iron gate. I am used to seeing it lifeless from the streets outside, as its protective charms hide all signs of its inhabitants to the outside world, but I am not used to seeing it all quiet once I've crossed the gate. Austin taps us each again and my mother reappears as I know I do.
"How long do you think it'll take them to find us here?" My mother asks quietly.
"Salem isn't that hard to find," Austin says. "They won't be able to get in though, Fox made sure of that, so don't worry." He hands me my bags, small enough to fit in the palm of my hand, and I walk up the stone path, up the few steps of the front porch and push the door open without hesitation, my mother following close behind. The entrance hall is deserted, but the second Austin closes the door, Madam Fox appears from the drawing room.
"Good, there you are," she lifts her hands in greeting. "The girls are through here, Mere. Can you entertain them for a moment, I still need to clarify a few things with their mother."
"Of course," my mother nods, rushing past with a quick squeeze of my shoulder.
"Jay, love, you'll be in your old room this year," she points up the twin stairs.
"On my own?" I ask.
"Aithne will be joining you when the school year starts."
I acknowledge that with a curt nod. Aithne is two years younger than me, one of three in her year, and so far, I've had very little interaction with her. Madam Fox follows my mother back into the drawing room and I am left behind with Austin.
"Can I have a quick word with you?"
Something in his tone makes me falter. I blink up at him, hesitating for a moment. "Sure," I finally say, leading him to the kitchen at the back of the house. "What's wrong?"
"I had a chat with Casper," he sticks his hands into the pockets of his pants and leans against the heavy butcher's block standing in the middle of the room.
I cross my arms with a sigh. "I'm guessing he told you about Malfoy?" I silently vow never to trust Casper with anything again.
"He's worried," Austin says. "And he's got a point if you ask me."
"Look," I interrupt him, but Austin holds his hand up to shush me.
"I'm not going to lecture you on this. The Malfoys are an unpleasant bunch, you should see the size of the file we have on that family," he raises his eyebrows in emphasis. "It's really none of my business why you would want to stay in touch with the guy, but I need you to keep at it."
I gawp at him. "What?" Surely he misspoke.
"I don't know the relationship you two have, but if there's any way you can get information out of him, that would help us a lot."
"You want me to spy on him?" I frown in disbelief.
"Not spy per se," Austin continues. "Try and get him to trust you, he's a good source of info."
I gawk at him. "Does Casper know you want me to do this?"
"Let's keep Casper out of this," he says with a half-smirk.
"I don't know how much I'll be able to get out of him," I say truthfully. "He's not stupid, he'll know right away if I start prying."
"Don't go in cold," he starts instructing. "Take your time and work on him a little bit. Give him some information first, so he feels like he can confide in you. Write down anything he says and pass it on to me. Any tiny snippet of information is valuable."
I blink at him again, before nodding slowly. "I can try."
"Be careful with what you tell him though," Austin pushes himself off the butcher block.
I nod more vigorously, uncrossing my arms. "I know. It's not like I know all that much anyways."
Austin huffs. "Let me know if he ever tells you anything of interest. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some paperwork to deal with."
He leaves me standing in the middle of the kitchen and I start biting the inside of my cheek. I have conflicting feelings at the prospect of having a reason to talk to Draco. I still resent him for his actions, for playing with my feelings. I can't deny the way my heart leaps the tiniest fraction of an inch when his coin glows red. But I had planned on ignoring all the above. I am not going to see him ever again; there is no point for me to hold on to any of these feelings.
And yet I held on to his coin for the past month and a half. And Austin has a point, maybe I could get Draco to divulge useful inside information to me that could help MACUSA and the Order. Especially now that the Ministry of Magic has fallen.
The Ministry of Magic has fallen.
I pause as those words finally start settling into my mind. That's what a coup means: the fall of a government. I try picturing what this means for the UK's magical society, what their world must look like now, in complete chaos, under Voldemort. Is anyone really safe under his regime? Harry, Hermione and Ron are probably all the way on top of their list of fugitives. But even people like Draco aren't safe according to his last message. I wonder what else he is being made to do, or if he even minds.
I resize my bags up in my room. It stands unchanged since I last saw it. It's a room for two; two single beds, two closets on each side of the bathroom door, two desks standing under two windows overlooking the front yard, separated by another door opposite the bathrooms, leading out to the wrap-around balcony. I drop my bags in front of my closet, having no intention to unpack them until I have no other choice, and pull the two coins out of my rucksack. Both are unchanged. I put Hermione's safely onto my desk, keeping Draco's in hand as I sit down on my bed, leaning against the headboard.
He made me torture the guys who let them escape.
I turn the coin over in my hand, playing with it, hesitating. It's past 3 a.m. in the UK by now, but I wave my wand over the coin anyway, making Draco's message vanish.
Who?
I am almost completely sure about the answer. There are very few people who would be capable of such a thing, but I need him to tell me. I need confirmation.
Despite the late hour, his answer comes almost immediately.
The Dark Lord.
My stomach sinks. I expected it, it's no surprise. I've never seen Voldemort, have never been shown a picture or been given a description of him. But the monster I imagine only makes this situation worse for Draco in my head.
Is he with you? I ask.
He lives here. His answer comes.
I almost recoil. So, despite his father breaking out of Azkaban, despite Dumbledore being dead and despite Him not needing to hold anything over Draco's head anymore, He still sticks around.
At your house?
Draco doesn't answer right away, and I start biting the inside of my cheek again. Have I pushed too far already? He probably knows I am in touch with people in the opposition - from his point of view. Nor does he really need to confirm it, 'He lives here' is clear enough. I put his coin down on my bedside table and get up. I take a quill and parchment out of the self-replenishing drawer in my desk and quickly jot down everything Draco has told me today. It isn't much and probably nothing MACUSA doesn't already know, but it is a start. I fold the parchment, hide it in my old charms book and go into the bathroom to change.
To my surprise, Draco has responded when I come back out fifteen minutes later. He's ignored my question however.
How are Poppy and Violet?
I pause, waving my wand after a moment's hesitation. You know them?
Yes.
His responses are instant again and I sigh.
They're safe.
Austin's words echo in my ears - Be careful with what you tell him - but Draco's response makes the corners of my mouth twitch, just a bit.
I'm glad.