CH-17

She walks inside slowly, looking around warily.

"There aren't Death Eaters hidden in the walls," I say.

She looks at me, clearly annoyed, and repeats the question she'd asked me outside. "Are we going to meet here, Malfoy?"

"Yes, this is where we're going to meet," I reply. "It'll be safer if you Apparate straight into this room."

"Who lives here?" she asks.

I shake my head. "No one."

She frowns and looks around the room. "How did you—"

"You should leave. I have to get going too," I say, getting to my feet.

She hesitates before asking, "Do you need me to take you anywhere?"

I laugh. "Do you really think you'd be able to take me to any place where I'd have to be? The Manor maybe? Just get going."

She glares at me. "Bye, Malfoy."

She raises her wand and Disapparates with a small pop. As soon as she's gone, I fall back onto the couch and stare into the flames.

Suddenly a face appears in the fireplace, and I hear a familiar voice.

"Draco? How come I can't come through?"

Fucking Theo. Terrible timing, as always.

"I'm at my place."

"No wonder I can't see a bloody thing. You look like you're sitting on air."

"What do you want?" I growl.

"You're not in a very good mood, are you? Your aunt Bellatrix was looking for you. She was pissed when I said I hadn't seen you since two days ago. Where'd you go?"

"Don't ask."

"But she wants to know. She's—"

"Don't push it, Theo. I'll be home to talk to my aunt in a few minutes."

"I just wanted to know where you were off to."

"I don't have to report to you."

"Yeah, I know. I just thought—"

I shoot him a glare, and he abruptly stops talking. "I'll talk to you tomorrow," I say.

"Sure. Bye, Draco."

I nod. As soon as his face disappears from the flames, I can relax again. Even though I know that no one can enter or even see inside this room, I still feel uneasy when faces appear in the fire.

I summon a small basin from the bathroom and place it on the coffee table in front of me. Shutting my eyes, I concentrate hard.

"Aguamenti."

The basin fills with water, and I open my eyes again. Wandless magic is getting easier and easier for me. I touch the tip of my index finger to the water.

Her image appears on the surface of the water as the ripples fade. She's speaking to Weasley and Potter. They say something that worries her, and she rushes toward the staircase of Order headquarters. I watch as the two boys scramble up the stairs behind her. They enter a room on the second floor, and I see Blaise lying on a bed, unconscious.

Concerned, I lean closer to the water. What's wrong with him? Apparently Granger's concerned too. I wish I could have captured sound as well with this charm, but I haven't learned how to do that.

Sighing, I Vanish the water with a wave of my hand and lean back on the couch. I really should be heading back to the Manor. If Aunt Bella went to Theo, she must have been really desperate to find me.

Remembering that I left my mask and new cloak at my godfather's home, I sigh heavily. It'll take some effort to retrieve them and return to the Manor.

I sit down on the bed in my room at the Manor, exhausted. My head's still throbbing.

Aunt Bella was furious that she couldn't find me tonight. Apparently, the Dark Lord was looking for me, and when she couldn't get in contact with me, he had punished her. So when she saw me, she didn't even bother asking where I'd been, instead diving right into my mind. I had had to thrust several inconsequential memories in her path to distract her as I hurriedly secured my walls.

I'd never had much to hide from Aunt Bella in the past—my only real secrets were my secret opinions of Granger. Since the night I rescued her, Granger has invaded my thoughts more and more often, and I've had to stow away more and more thoughts. No one can know what I think about her. I already can't quite come to terms with what I'm feeling myself. No one else would be able to even begin to understand.

This time, I had to hide a relatively large amount of information—Blaise unexpectedly turning up at Godric's Hollow, my meeting with Potter and Weasley at Spinner's End, the conversations that took place tonight at the headquarters of the Order. This is more than I've ever had to hide from Aunt Bella, and she gave me no time to prepare. I'm still stunned that I was able to hide it all.

That didn't mean she left me alone, though.

When she didn't discover anything out of the ordinary, she lost her temper and attacked my mind. I thought my skull was going to split in half. This wasn't an attempt to get behind the walls that I'd put up—at this point, I've become skilled at concealing the walls from her. No, she was just trying to hurt me however she could. Punishing me as she saw fit, I suppose, since she was punished by Voldemort for being unable to find me.

I can't even remember the last time she hurt me intentionally. Voldemort must have been very furious with her.

I pick my wand up from the nightstand and point it at the door, locking it. Although I can perform wandless magic, it's tiring, and I'm already drained from tonight. I rub my forehead tiredly and yawn. The sun's just beginning to rise, and I want to take a nap.

I pull the serpent charm out and look at it.

Hopefully Blaise is all right. Granger looked very worried about him.

Jealousy stirs in my chest again, but I smother it quickly. Emotions like these can't keep rising to the surface. I have to maintain as much control as possible over myself.

I close my fist around the charm and shut my eyes.

Finally, my feet hit the ground. I feel like I've been in the air for a year.

I try to let go of Malfoy, but my hands won't release him. He shifts a little and then clears his throat. I force my hands to separate and dismount, hurrying away from him.

We're standing in a backyard, with a huge variety of plants growing. Odd place… I look around warily, wondering if Death Eaters could be hiding behind some of the larger bushes. My eyes rest on the small house in front of me.

I hear Malfoy's voice.

"Mind lifting the Disillusionment Charm?"

I remember that I'm still invisible and lift the charm on myself before going over to do the same for him.

"We're going to meet here, then?" I ask.

He doesn't answer me, and I start to feel frustrated. Why does he feel that it's acceptable for him to constantly ignore my questions? I watch him pull open the back door of the cottage and disappear inside. I contemplate staying outside out of spite, forcing him to come get me. But that's childish.

With a sigh, I head for the entrance.

I look around as I step inside, taking in the small, sparsely furnished living room that I've entered. The room is lit only by firelight from the fireplace—an unlit brass chandelier hangs from the ceiling. The walls are painted Slytherin green, and a couch, positioned to face the fireplace, is a deep forest green.

My inspection of the room is cut short when Malfoy speaks, "There aren't Death Eaters hidden in the walls."

Annoyed, I turn to him and repeat my question from outside. "Are we going to meet here, Malfoy?"

"Yes, this is where we're going to meet. It'll be safer if you Apparate straight into this room."

After a brief pause, I ask, "Who lives here?"

He shakes his head at me. "No one."

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