Riptides (Fred Weasley Fan Fiction)

Chapter 22

The next day, Lyssie woke up next to Draco in his dormitory. She raised her head and looked around, but the room was completely empty. They were both in their clothes, but someone covered them with a blanket. Malfoy was fast asleep, turned away from her. He was snoring quietly. Lyssie looked at her watch and it turned out that it was only six in the morning. She blinked a couple of times trying to remember how did she end up in Draco's dormitory at six on the Wednesday morning.

She got up and stretched. Now, she just had to come back to her bed, so no one finds out that she spent the night in Draco's room. She knew that there was nothing between them and that the fact that she fell asleep there was a complete accident, but she didn't need any more people gossiping about her. And Pansy being jealous and not talking to her, just like in September.

Lyssie walked towards the door quietly. She didn't want to wake Draco up. She opened the door, but someone was standing in her way. Since when could owls fly into students' rooms? She opened the door further and the animal flew straight on her shoulder.

"Do you have mail for me?" she whispered, and the owl hooted and straitened its leg so that Lyssie was able to untie the letter. "But why would you come here and not to the Great Hall, like always?"

The owl hooted again and flew out of the room leaving Lyssie's question unanswered. It didn't even allow her to scratch her chin like usual.

"Let's see," she said to herself.

She sat down on one of the remaining beds. Probably, it belonged to Zabini, because she saw a T-shirt with number six on the place of the pillow. He wore it to Quidditch matches. It seemed that he missed playing so much, that he decided to sleep with a part of his outfit.

Lyssie opened the letter and felt a tiny spark of hope that it could be from her father. Maybe he just faked his own death and was now writing to her to tell her the truth? It sounded reasonable and could be a possible explanation to why the owl couldn't deliver the letter during breakfast.

Lyssie unrolled the letter and read:

Dear Son,

It was for Draco. She automatically felt guilty for opening the letter in the first place. She shouldn't be reading his correspondence. Lyssie turned back. Malfoy was still sleeping in the same exact position she left him in. Reading the rest of the letter seemed so tempting. She has already opened it, so why wouldn't she take a quick look at the rest? If it's too personal, she will stop reading, for sure. Nobody was going to find out about that.

Your mother and I are delighted to hear that you are all good. She was worried. We are at home now, hopefully safe. The Dark Lord was satisfied with your commitment, but he hopes you will be more useful in the future. The cooperation with him is vital for the future of our family and you shall never forget it.

Lyssie thought that the letter looked extremely formal. The language Draco's father was using didn't signify a letter from a dad to his son. It all seemed very official, even though the message he was trying to convey seemed positive, in a way. On the other hand, Lyssie was happy that Malfoy and his family were safe.

Before she continued reading, she looked at Draco to make sure that he was still sleeping. Knowing that she was safe, she looked back at the letter.

We expect you to inform the girl about the Dark Lord's plan. The time is coming. Don't be a disappointment.

Lucius Malfoy

The girl? Was she the girl Lucius Malfoy was talking about in the letter? He said that the time was coming. But the time for what? Lyssie frowned and folded the letter in half. She shouldn't have read it.