Forever Home | Draco Malfoy

Chapter 7-5: Each Other

Desiree woke up the next morning in a haze. She had forgotten she was taken, more like hoping it was just a nightmare that seemed all too real. But, it wasn't a nightmare, in the literal sense, it was her reality. She now occupied the cellars of Malfoy Manor with a quite ill Mr. Ollivander.

"Mr. Ollivander, is there anything I can do for you?" She asked, slowly crouching at his side. He had been captive in the Death Eaters hold for over a year now, and it definitely showed. Ollivander looked to have aged a decade within just that year.

"No, my dear. All we can do is sit and wait, hoping that they will someday let us out," he rasped, moving his hand to the top of Desiree's.

"You there, the girl," A Death Eater Desiree didn't recognize open the door. She stood up from Ollivander's side, carefully watching the Death Eater's behavior. "You're coming with me. It's about time you answer some questions for us."

"No, please no," Desiree winced at the pain she felt in her wrist from his harsh grab. Without so much more as a forewarning, Desiree was pushed forward, stumbling before another Death Eater. But it wasn't just any Death Eater. It was Bellatrix Lestrange.

"Thank you, Rowle," she showed him off, offering a deviant grin to Desiree. "Now, how about we get you talking, eh? Alcyone. Where's your family?"

"I don't know, you took me from them," said Desiree.

"Don't play dumb with me, girl. Where is your family's safe house?" Bellatrix spat, squeezing Desiree's cheeks tightly in her hand.

"I don't know," Desiree muttered the best she could with her tightly squeezed cheeks.

"Liar!" Bellatrix raised her voice.

"Bella," a familiar voice sounded from the entrance of the sitting room Desiree stood in. Bellatrix and Desiree's attention snapped to the voice.

"Can't you see I'm a bit busy, Cissy?" Bellatrix looked eagerly at her sister. Desiree could see all the color drain from Narcissa's face once realizing who Bellatrix held in her grasp. She obviously hadn't known Desiree taken there the previous night.

"It's time for the meeting," Narcissa muttered, zeroing her focus back in on her sister.

Bellatrix lightly cleared her throat, slowly letting her head turn towards Desiree, "Very well, I'll just leave this for another time. Pettigrew, take her back down."

With this, Bellatrix roughly let go of Desiree's cheeks, walking away slowly with her sister. Desiree's eyes caught Narcissa's in a pained expression. She could tell Narcissa didn't like knowing that Desiree was being held, prisoner. Within only a few moments of Bellatrix releasing her, Desiree felt another set of hands grasp her arms. It was the traitor himself, Peter Pettigrew. Just the sheer thought of him made Desiree's blood boil.

Desiree kept her jaw tight the entire time she was held in his grasp. It took everything in her not to spit at him. She knew spitting at someone was highly disrespectful, but there was nothing like a traitor to get under her skin. She despised Pettigrew for what he did to the Potter's, to Harry's parents.

"Sit tight, miss, I'm sure you'll get your welcome when the meeting is over," Pettigrew grinned.

"You have no right to be speaking to me. You're a terrible person. You betrayed the very people who trusted you. You betrayed them, and they were murdered, leaving their son an orphan at war," Desiree spat.

Pettigrew's face hardened, "Very well, carry on with staying down here then."

"With pleasure," Desiree said with a sarcastic grin.

Desiree sat back down on the ground, trying hard to find anything that would keep her mind occupied without focusing on the fact that she was currently being held captive by the most murderous wizard in history, and the fact that she had no idea if her family was still alive.

Instead of focusing on her thoughts, Desiree made do with counting how many times she could tap her feet together before she either lost count or dozed off into a nap. So far, the highest she had gotten was two-hundred-fifty-six.

Desiree eventually gave up with tapping her feet, there wasn't much to do in the cellar, other than eat. So, when dinner was sent down, she made sure to bring the tray over to Ollivander as well. They would both need to eat to keep as much strength as they could, Ollivander's was a bit more pressing though. Dinner was a combination of two dinner rolls, two apples, and a small handful of grapes. It wasn't much, but it was something, and that's all they could really ask for right now.

"Here, you take half of my roll. You need it more than I do," said Desiree, tearing her roll in half before handing it to Ollivander.

"No, I couldn't. You're stuck down here just as much as I am," he shook his head, his voice seemed quieter than it had when Desiree had woken up earlier.

"I insist. Besides, if you take half of the roll, I'll take the grapes. Deal?"

"I suppose," he whispered, moving slowly to grab the roll from her hand.

Suddenly, a quiet clamber sounded from the rod-iron door on the opposite end of the cellar.

"Ally? Ally, are you in there?" an urgent voice sounded.

"Draco?" Desiree slowly turned towards the door, taking cautious steps as she did.

"Oh, god, you are in there. Damn it!" Draco shouted, hitting the wall next to the door with his fist.

"Draco, what are you doing down here?" she asked, trying her best to stop him from hitting the wall again.

With the darkness of the night, it made it a bit hard to take in all of his features. The low gloom of the oil lamp on the table added a bit of help, but nothing like how she wished she could see him. But even with the small amount of light the lamp offered, she could see the drastic changes his physical appearance had taken. His eyes had formed dark circles beneath them, his forehead creased with worry lines, however, that could have just been since he found her trapped in his cellar, his frame looked frailer than it had when he left her on the Astronomy tower. This was taking a larger toll on him than she could have originally anticipated, and that was killing her.

"What am I doing down here? Ally, why are you down here?" he asked, his eyes raked up her frame. She looked much like she usually had, but he knew that would change.

"They grabbed me when they attacked Bill and Fleur's wedding at the Burrow," Desiree muttered. She realized she didn't know who survived that attack, or where everyone would be if they had.

"Oh, bloody hell," Draco muttered to himself, raking his hands through his hair. "This is all my fault. This is exactly what I feared. I just couldn't stay away. I should have-"

"Hey, look at me," Desiree reached through the gated door, touching her hands to his cheeks. This was always something that calmed him no matter what he was dealing with. "This is not your fault. My family has been targeted by Voldemort since the first wizarding war. You had nothing to do with my capture. It is because of my heritage, not you."

"You still shouldn't be down here like this!" he spoke sternly.

"And you shouldn't have had to join them," she rebutted. Draco remained quiet for a few moments. Desiree could see his jaw tense in the dim light of the lamp.

"How did things get so bad," he whispered, letting out a shaky breath. Desiree could tell he was close to breaking down before her eyes. There was only so much a person could take before everything became too much.

"I don't know," she muttered lowly. "Draco, things are going to work out. I don't know when. I don't know-how. But things will work out."

"How can you be so sure?" he asked. His eyes looked as though they were beginning to glaze over with tears.

"Because," Desiree reached for his hand, giving them a tight squeeze from the other side of the door, "we have each other."

A tear rolled down Draco's cheek, squeezing her hand in return, "Each other."