CH-37

There seems to be a steel wall around his mind. I can't find anything to hold onto, any crevice or crack that I can slip through. He has no weak spots, just a smooth, thick wall that prevents me from penetrating his mind. I throw myself at the barrier several times, but it doesn't do any good.

I can't get through.

"You really are a very skilled Occlumens," I concede.

"Obviously," he says with a grin. "Otherwise, would I dare cross the Dark Lord?"

I sigh. "Well, I'll be interrogating Rowle in two days. I'm busy brewing a plethora of potions at the moment, and I can't be gone from headquarters for more than an hour at a time."

It's a pain in the arse, really.

"Go on back, then," he says. "You've already been here a while."

"Yes, I should go," I say, nodding.

Still that reluctance to leave makes me walk past him, slowly. When I'm behind him, I spin around to make sure he's not watching me. Then I quickly cast a nonverbal Disillusionment Charm on myself and Apparate to the other side of the room.

Obviously, he thinks I'm gone—he sighs heavily and moves to the couch to sit.

I blush when I see him on the couch. It reminds me of the dream that I'd had about him. I shiver as the scenes begin to replay in my head and force my attention back to the present.

Is it that much of a burden for him to meet with me? Why does he look so… so relieved that I'm gone? And yet, there's something other than relief on his face, something that I don't quite recognize. No, it's not concern—it's not the same expression that I saw last time.

I look down at my heart charm and hold it tightly in my fist, closing my eyes. I know it's wrong to spy on people like this, but I really want to get into Malfoy's head. I'm not sure why it's so important to me. He's just Malfoy. Understanding him shouldn't be a priority to me. Yet I'm still here, hidden, waiting to see his reaction when I've placed two words—"thank you"—on his charm.

I replace the charm under my shirt and look at him to see that he's staring at the charm, unblinking. I see the slightest hint of a smile beginning to form on his lips, but before I can be sure that I didn't imagine it, his face becomes just as impassive as before. His eyes remain locked on the back of the charm.

Does it mean a lot to him that I've thanked him? If so… whydoes it matter to him?

Then he covers up the back of his charm with a finger and closes his eyes, leaning his head back against the couch. I wish I could see into his head, wish that I could penetrate those impossibly thick walls that he surrounded his mind with.

I know that understanding people isn't nearly as easy as solving a riddle or deciphering Ancient Runes, but please, Malfoy, give me a sign, a hint. Anything.

It's been two days since I last saw Granger in person. I've been watching her sleep for ten minutes a night, rationalizing it by saying that if I see her, then I won't think about her as much during the day. But it's just an excuse—I think about her whether or not I see her face.

I take another swig of Firewhiskey and look into the fireplace glumly.

Today was a long day. Voldemort decided that he wanted to see me use his new curse against some prisoners. It's not entirely new; it's really just a modification of the Cruciatus Curse. He hasn't thought up a good name for it yet, but the incantation is Crucio Locus, and the spell concentrates all of the pain brought on by the Cruciatus Curse into one location of the caster's choice on the victim's body. I can't even begin to imagine how much it must hurt.

I can still hear the screams.

The flames in the fireplace crackle loudly, and I notice that Theo's head is in the fire.

"Draco, are you at your place again? I'm blocked off again."

"Yes, I am. Did you need something?"

"Not really. Just a bit of nerves, actually," he says.

I frown. "Nerves? Do you have a new job, then?"

"Yes. We're going to kill two birds with one stone."

"What are you going to do?"

"We're going to rescue Rowle."

Immediately I start to worry. Rowle was captured by the Order. If Theo and the others are "killing two birds with one stone", then it's not hard to guess what the other "bird" is. Voldemort must want to catch the person who's receiving information from about the Death Eaters so that he can find the traitor—me.

"When?" I ask.

"I'm leaving in a few minutes."

"Who's going?" I ask.

"Dolohov, Travers, Crabbe Sr. and Goyle Sr.," he replies. "I'm surprised that he ordered me to go, instead of you."

Does he suspect me?

"It's probably because I'm working on something else at the moment," I reply.

And it's true. He seemed unsatisfied with the effect that his spell had on the prisoners today, and I'm supposed to be working on a new group tomorrow morning.

"Hmm yeah, you're probably right," Theo says.

"So, what exactly are you doing? I could give you a few tips, if you're nervous."

He gives me a grateful smile. "All I've really got to do is catch the Mudblood. The others will do the bulk of the fighting."

I almost lose my ability to speak, but I force my voice out anyway. "Mudblood? Not Mudblood Granger?" I ask.

"The one and only," he says.

Bloody fucking hell! She's going to be there tonight—she might be there even now. Fuck!

"Why do you have to capture her specifically?" I ask, playing dumb—if I look like I already know, it'll throw suspicion on me.

"Well, you heard about what happened to your aunt's forces at Nottingham, didn't you?" he asks. "I reckon we've got a traitor. The Dark Lord thinks that the Mudblood will know who it is."

I frown. "How does he know that she knows?"

Theo shrugs. "How should I know?"

Then I hear a bang on the other side, and he frowns, looking behind him.

"What's going on?" I ask him.

"I have to go. They're calling me. Thanks for talking to me, Draco."

I shake my head. "No problem, mate," I respond distractedly.

His face leaves the fire, and I get up, pacing worriedly. I pull the charm out from beneath my shirt and close my fist around it. She can't go. She can't be captured.

I don't even know where Rowle is being imprisoned. I can't go to help. I can't do anything.

I'm helpless.

Don't go, don't go, don't go.

My mind turns restlessly, wishing I could do more than simply alert her to danger. I storm into the bathroom, grab the stone basin, and return to the living room, where I drop the basin on the coffee table.

A moment later, I'm watching as she speaks to Rowle.

Why is no one else in the room? Did they leave her alone with Rowle? She seems completely normal, and I wonder if she checked her charm. I wrap my hand around my own charm again, focusing on a new word—DANGER. I keep my eyes open, refusing to take my eyes off her, so it takes a moment before the words are transferred over.

Her reaction to the burn is a hardly noticeable flinch. I watch as she turns her back to Rowle, saying something that I can't hear. Lupin opens a door and enters the room, and Granger says something to him before exiting the room and shutting the door behind her.

This outer room is empty.

Fuck, are there seriously only the two of them? They'll be no match for Dolohov, Travers, Theo, and Greg and Vince's fathers.

She pulls out the charm and reads the back. There's a confused expression on her face, but then she looks up, startled, and I notice that two hooded figures have entered the room. She seems to recognize Dolohov's mask, backing away from him hurriedly and firing curses at both intruders.

.

.

.

Subscribe to me Patreon for more advanced content...🎉

Read the complete novel in PDF, available at my Patreon Store!🎉

patreon.com/Fictiontopia🎉