"Karkaroff?" Amethyst looked between Draco and the man on the floor.
"Another relative of Igor. I've seen him with my father a few times." Draco explained. "I will release you, but if you try anything, I will send you to the Ministry in pieces." He said and then released Dimitri from the bind. "What are you doing here?"
"Roberts told me she would be here." Dimitri looked at Amethyst. "Said she had something that belongs to my family." He looked around the room and noticed a picture on the dresser. "Why do you have a picture of Illyana?"
"That's my mother." Amethyst took a step forward but Draco maintained his protective stance.
"You're Illyana's daughter? Who was your father?"
"Alexander Abbott." She could tell that even Roberts hadn't known the truth about her lineage.
"What happened to Illyana?" Dimitri knew but wanted to make sure Amethyst was really who she said she was.
"I was told, my whole life, that she died because of childbirth. My aunt just told me that she died from a blood curse." She explained.
"Your father protected you by keeping all this a secret. If you tell no one I was here, I will keep the secret." Dimitri looked at Draco. "Your father is up to something, Draco. He and Roberts were planning something before Roberts was picked up by the Ministry. Have them ask about it." Draco nodded and Dimitri disapparated.
"What just happened?" Amethyst sat down on the bed.
"I'm not exactly sure." Draco sat next to her and thought for a moment. "Dimitri never really liked my father. Nor Roberts for that matter. He's always been more interested in his family. I know he's related to Igor and Boris, but I'm not exactly sure how."
"If he doesn't like them, why hang around them?" Amethyst thought aloud.
"I'm not sure about Roberts, but he was only around my father when he wanted information about the Karkaroff family. The fact that he didn't know about you shows how deep your father went in hiding the truth." He looked at her. "We should get back to bed, it's been a long day." He stood and headed for the door. "Night."
"Night, Draco." She replied as he closed the door. She listened to the creaking stairs as he made his way back up stairs. There was no way she would be going to sleep anytime soon. She looked around the room. Whatever Dimitri was looking for had to be in her room. So what was he after? She walked quietly around the room and then remembered a secret drawer that she had discovered in her desk as a child. Her father had told her that there was nothing in it. He also said it was impossible to get into. She also remembered him saying that the desk had belonged to her mother. She stood facing the desk and tried to remember anything else that she might have once thought inconsequential.
"Amethyst?" His voice came softly through the door. "Are you awake?"
"Yes. She answered but stayed staring at the desk. He opened the door and stepped into the room.
"What are you doing?" He hadn't been able to get back to sleep. He had been thinking the same thing she had.
"I just remembered a secret drawer in this desk. I discovered it when I was a child, but my father had said there was nothing in it." She looked at him as he came to stand beside her. "The desk belonged to my mother."
"Whatever Dimitri was looking for is probably in there then… or at least he thought it would be." He said and she nodded once in agreement. "So how do we unlock it?"
"I'm not exactly sure. There's no key or even a key hole." She ran her fingers over a seemingly boring piece of the desk. "Alohamora doesn't work."
"Specialis revilio!" He pointed his wand at the spot Amethyst had just touched. There was a click and the board popped away from where it was set. Amethyst looked at them and then pulled the secret drawer out. Inside was an old wand that looked like it would crumble upon first use. "Is that…?"
"My mother's wand?" She carefully lifted the wand from the drawer. "My grandfather's." She thought back to a picture she'd come across in her travels. "I've seen a picture of my grandfather with this wand when I was in Bulgaria a few years ago. I didn't know the connection until tonight. This was his wand when he was a student at Durmstrang. I doubt it would last more than a spell or two. Of course, knowing his preference for the Dark Arts, not sure I'd want much to do with the wand anyways."
"That's true." He thought for a moment. He took the wand and laid it on the desk. "Prior incantato." He pointed his wand, tip to tip, with the other and used the spell to reveal the last spell used by Amethyst's grandfather. A gold light was followed by a green light and a scream. "Deletrius!" Draco quickly ended the spell when he realized what the spell used had been.
"What that…" She swallowed and looked between Draco and her grandfather's wand. "Was that the killing curse?" Draco just nodded. "So whoever used the wand last killed someone?"
"Unfortunately, we can't tell who used it or why they used that spell." He said. He watched as she sank onto the bed. He looked into the drawer and pulled out a piece of parchment. He handed it to her.
"'To whoever finds this: Destroy this wand. My father used it in an attempt to kill my fiancé. My father holds too strongly to the Dark Arts. While Alexander is a pure-blood, he is far from a supporter of the Dark Arts… something my father has always wanted in a son-in-law. Alexander was able to dive behind a brick wall as my father used the killing curse. Before he was able to try again, I disarmed him. After that my father banished me from his home. I kept this wand and hid it away. Both Alexander and my father believe that I destroyed it. I should have. I thought it would be valuable if Lord Voldemort ever succeeded in his goals. My father was a staunch supporter of Voldemort and only stopped becoming a Death Eater at the plea of my mother. She was no saint and was also a practitioner of the Dark Arts, however, she never truly believed that Voldemort would succeed. She had a cousin who was a Death Eater, in fact, I believe that many in her family were. I know father's cousin, Igor, was a Death Eater. Father was so proud of him… I am rather ashamed to call them family.'"
Amethyst read the letter out loud. She looked up at Draco. "It's a wonder Boris didn't kill my father when he came begging for money…"
"I guess we should destroy the wand?" Draco watched the emotions play across her face. She nodded and Draco snapped the wand in half.
"I'm not sure where to begin to process any of this…" She hung her head in her hands. "I am grateful that my father had the decency to protect me from the truth, but that he would, then, become so desperate that he would agree to what he did…"
"We are not our families. We are not our parents' or grandparents' choices. Your parents chose to break from your mother's family because it was for the best. Your mother knew what was right and she had the courage to stand up to her father." He sat beside her and pulled her into his side. "I know this is a lot to process, but it doesn't chance who you are." He kissed the top of her head. They sat there for a while without speaking. Amethyst shifted and sat up straighter.
"You're right, Drake, this doesn't change who I am. My father might have been desperate enough to hire hitmen, but he didn't want me killed in the end. He also protected me after my mother died. I know my father moved us here to be closer to his family, but also because he knew I'd be safe here." She watched the room get brighter as the sun began to rise. She turned to look at him. "Thank you."
"For?" He looked back at her. It took all of his strength to resist the pull he felt towards her. He knew it at the Leaky Cauldron but he was even more sure now. He was completely in love with Amethyst Abbott. He still needed and wanted to talk to Scorpius; it was only fair.
"For not listening earlier. For still choosing to be here." She leaned her head on his shoulder. Pushing everything aside, Draco laced his fingers through her and cleared his throat.
"Amethyst, what I said about needing time is still true. However, it is only because I need to talk with Scorpius. Not just about you and my feelings for you, but also a few other things that will change our lives." He stood up to face her, but continued to hold her hand. "I was being serious in my offer to buy this house should no one in your family want it. I have been away from Malfoy Manor so much already this term and I don't even miss it. I no longer feel as though it is home. I would keep the Manor should Scorpius want to live there at any point - it will become him when he marries, just like it did for me." He thought for a moment before continuing. "Thursday, at dinner, Professor McGonagall approached me with a proposition. The current Defence Against the Dark Arts professor may retire as early as the end of this term - pending a replacement is found by then. McGonagall has asked me if I would consider taking the position along with Head of Slytherin House. I had hoped to discuss it with Scorpius at dinner, but he never showed."
"Oh." She wasn't sure what to say or where to start. "So, what are your feelings for me?" She asked so softly he barely heard her.
"I know at the Leaky Cauldron, after you went back to your room. I am even more sure now. Please understand that nothing today has or will change anything." He knelt on the floor in front of her and held both her hands in his. "I think part of me has always felt this way about you. Amethyst Illyana Abbott, I love you. I'm in love with you." He watched a few emotions dance in her eyes. The silence that followed, though, made his heart stop. Tears flowed down her cheeks and he started to panic.