The Serpent Princess (Draco Malfoy)

EIGHT- A PECULIAR CONVERSATION

As soon as I stepped out of the castle doors I felt the affects of the crisp air, especially considering that all I'm wearing is my uniform and robes. Mentally cursing Snape for not even letting me get a coat before we went for a little walk. Looking down at my hands, I realised how cut up my now black and blue knuckles are due to what I did to Bulstrode. I don't care though, they will heal. Maybe I did take it too far, I am woman enough to admit that but I can't control what I do when I am that infuriated and overwhelmed by emotion, I am also woman enough to admit that.

I wrapped my robes around myself tighter to warm myself up, especially my hands- I tucked them in as tight as possible; cuts hurt so much more when they are exposed to freezing conditions so I'm trying to prevent the pain as much as possible. I let out a deep breath, I feel like it's the first actual breath I've taken since I left my room. As I breathed out I saw a cloud of what looked like smoke leave my mouth, showing how icy the air really was.

Snape and I started walking silently and slowly, I kept my head down, focusing on the frosted tips of the grass that was once green but now appear to be a bright white. The grass crunched beneath both of our feet as we stomped through it. Still keeping the silence, I heard Snape take a breath and clear his throat.

"Miss Validus" He groaned, this is going to be a really long conversation if he continues to speak at the pace of a snail.

"Professor Snape" I replied, briefly lifting my head to look at him.

"What was that about?" He asked me, genuinely curious. Usually when Snape speaks, you can detect the sarcasm that drips through his dialogue in which shows that he couldn't care less, but there was no sarcasm in his tone, for the first time in 5 years. I breathed out and began to tell the story of how my evening went- I explained every detail to him, well, I left out the original plan of meeting in the astronomy tower for obvious reasons, I stayed looking at the floor through the whole explanation, trying to not relive my anger and keep myself grounded. Once finishing my story I took a deep breath and looked up at him "So if you feel as though my reaction was wrong, then that's fair enough but I refuse to apologise for doing what I did" I shrugged. Snape kept eye contact with me, as usual and I could tell he was still trying to process all of the information that I had given him.

"I understand Katerina- believe it or not, I have done some ridiculous things for love" he admitted. Snape, love? I shuddered at the thought of both of those words in the same sentence. He continued "I am not angry about what you did, because if you were a regular student Miss Validus then I would probably give you a detention and never speak of it again but I'm afraid that you are not a regular student, you are a death eater now Katerina" He stated, in his normal emotionless demeanour, I nodded, understanding his words. He continued again, clearly expectant of me to say something "You cannot keep drawing attention to yourself and Draco, you have a lot of responsibility this year... especially you" He finished his little speech as we stopped at a bench, he took a seat and patted the space next to me, signalling me to sit with him. I slowly took the space next to him, processing what he had said

"Professor, what do you mean especially me?" I scrunched my face, my confusion blatant. He mimicked my expression "The dark lord is very reliant on you in this process Katerina, he believes that out of both of you, you will be the one to truly see it through" He paused, waiting for my reaction in which I kept the same, confused expression therefore he continued "I assumed that he had told you this?" He asked me, I shook my head "no, the only time I've met the dark lord was when Draco and I met with him and were assigned our task" I told him, in a hushed tone, I continued "Why me?" I choked out, trying to hide my true emotions. The feeling of panic started becoming overwhelming; I'm already terrified of this task and have been since it was assigned, and now being told that I am the one being relied on by someone who I know to be extremely close to and trusted by the dark lord, it's just too much for me to handle. But I would never admit that, especially to Snape. "Well, I think that is obvious" He spoke as lightly as he could, his eyes softened slightly- I can tell he feels somewhat guilty for having to be the one to inform me. "The Malfoy family have not proven themselves so far to be as loyal to him as-" I interrupted him, I already knew what he was going to say and I didn't need or want to "Draco isn't his father, nor is he stupid. He is just as capable as me when it comes to this task" grumbled. I know that Lucius is seen as a coward by everyone, only a fool would think that he wasn't but I mean what I say- Draco is nothing like Lucius Malfoy, and I will never allow someone to compare the two. Snape nodded slightly and paused, looking out onto the lake that had now been covered by a light sheet of ice. It was clear to him that this conversation is no longer something that I want any involvement in. "I'm going to go to bed, it's freezing and I need to see if Draco is still in love with another girl" I spoke quickly, hoping to escape the situation as quick as possible. I turned by body and tried to walk away but felt a hand grip my arm "You may go Miss Validus, but remember our conversation" He stated coldly, and with that he released my arm and apparated- Salzar Slytherin knows where too, but at this point I couldn't give a shit. I just need to see Draco.