|In The Dark|

53

Past And Present

ANNABELLE LUPIN-BLACK

When our feet hit the gravel outside the gates of Malfoy Manor, we all felt it. That darkness. That lingering fear. Draco was right. It's not safe here. But that doesn't matter. We have to save him. "Ok, remember the plan. Enzo, stay near the front door and keep watch. Blaise, you keep an eye on the left wing and Pansy, you're on the right. Theo and I will get Draco. Use the muggle walkie talkies I gave you if anything goes wrong. Ok?" I said. They all nodded. Then we all split up. Theo and I went past the gates and around the back. "Which balcony leads to his room?" I asked. "The 2nd one." Theo replied. Lucky for us, the ivy wraps around the house and his balcony. "We can climb this." I said. We got onto the balcony and peered inside. "It's empty," he whispered. "Maybe he's in his bed or the loo." I suggested. "Alohomora," I whispered. The lock clicked and we went inside. "Draco!" I whispered. "Draco mate, where are you?" he whispered looking around. He wasn't here. "Belle-" he whispered. He pointed to a cloth next to the bed with blood on it. "That's blood." he whispered. "Where is he?" I said. My voice was shaky. "I don't know. Maybe he-" Theo started. Then we heard it. Footsteps. Theo grabbed my hand and yanked me into the closet and shut the door. He clamped his hand over my mouth and wrapped his arm around my waist. I could feel his hot breath on my neck. "Shhh" he whispered. I nodded. I tried to look through the crack in the door but I couldn't see. Then there were more footsteps. "Come on dear, just a little further." a soft voice said. "Hurts to breathe" I instantly recognized it. Draco. "Lay down, I'll get my bag." The other voice was Narcissa. I pushed the doors open and rushed out. "Belle!" Theo exclaimed. Narcissa immediately drew her wand and pointed it at us. We raised our hands in surrender and she sighed. "You scared me! What are you two doing here? It's not safe." she said. "We know." I said. I ran over to Draco. He was bloody and bruised, laying on the bed. "Draco, are you ok?" I whispered. "I told you not to come. I told you to get Astoria and Daphne. Why can't any of you bloody listen to me?" he groaned. "We aren't just going to leave you here with your father. Look at you!" I said. "He didn't do this." Draco said. "Mate, what are you talking about?" Theo asked. "Draco," Narcissa warned. "What's going on?" I asked. "I love you guys and I appreciate you coming but you have to go. Now. I can't leave and it's not safe for you here. Please just go get Astoria and Daphne. Please." he begged.. "We aren't leaving without you." I said. "Annabelle, Theo, it isn't safe here. You have to go. Now." Narcissa said. "Cissy, what's happening? What aren't you telling us?" Theo asked. Her face was full of sorrow. I took Draco's hands. They were trembling and ice cold. "Draco, please come with us. You can't stay here." I pleaded. "Cissy, you can come too. You don't have to stay with him." Theo said. "Yeah, come with us." I said. She shook her head. "We can't. You need to go. Before they hear you." she said. "Before who hears us?" I asked. "We'll be alright." Draco said. "I'm sorry." she said. Then she waved her wand and with a flash, Theo and I landed outside the gates. Blaise, Pansy, and Enzo were already there. "What happened? Where's Draco?" Enzo asked. My eyes filled with tears. "He wouldn't leave. He said he couldn't." I said. "What? We can't leave him here!" Pansy exclaimed. "Pans, trust us. We tried. He won't budge. Neither will Cissy. They aren't leaving. Let's just go get Astoria and Daphne." Theo said. "What? We're going to save them but not Draco?" Blaise asked. "It's the only thing Draco asked us to do. We have to do it. Besides, if they're in danger, we should help them." Enzo said. We all nodded. "Let's go. We need to do this while it's still dark out." Blaise said. We all held hands and spoke. "Apparate" We landed outside an unfamiliar Manor. "Do you have the map Daphne drew?" Theo asked. Blaise handed it to him and he looked it over. "Daphne said that since they are in trouble, Astoria and her are kept in the cellar. There's a window with bars on it but I think we can get past it." Theo said. "It's worth a shot." I said. "I'll distract their dad, you guys sneak around the back and get them out." Pansy said. "I'll come with you," Blaise said. He nodded and they headed for the front door. Theo, Enzo and I headed around back. Once we heard the doorbell and Pansy's voice, we did it. "Bombarda Maxima" I said pointing my wand at the window. It blew open and it worked. Daphne ran over with a shocked look on her face. "It worked!" she exclaimed. She was dirty and there was blood on her hands. She had a black eye too. "Where's Astoria?" Theo asked. Her face fell. "She's not good. She can barely keep her eyes open, let alone walk." Daphne said. Theo nodded. "I got it." he said. We all climbed through the window and into the cellar. There was a small, frail body on the floor with only a dirty dress and a thin blanket covering her. I knelt down next to her and shook her gently. "Astoria, can you hear me?" I whispered. She opened her eyes and they were full of fear. She started to back away and she winced. "Hey, woah, it's ok. We're here to help. Draco sent us. He sent us to get you." I said. "It's ok sissy, we can trust them. They are going to take us somewhere safe." Daphne said. Then she looked at Theo. "Right?" she asked. We all exchanged looks. We didn't think this far ahead. "We can't take them to any of our houses. All the pureblood families know each other." Theo said. I sighed. "You can stay with me. My father won't let anything happen to you. You'll be safe with us. OK?" I asked. They nodded. Theo picked Astoria up and we all climbed through the window. Enzo whistled to signal Pansy and Blaise and they left. "Everyone ready?" Enzo asked. They nodded. "Apparate" The world spun and we landed outside my house. "Take Astoria inside and put her in one of the spare bedrooms. I'll get my healer's kit." I said. Theo nodded and carried her inside. Blaise went with them. "Daphne, you can stay with your sister or in another bedroom, it's up to you." I said. "I'll stay with Astoria." she said. I nodded and Pansy showed her upstairs. I went into the kitchen to get my bag and Enzo was pouring out glasses of water. I stood there, waiting for him to leave. Then he stopped and looked at me. "Annabelle, this is your house. If you are going to be afraid of me, I should just leave. I would never harm you but I understand you're hesitant to trust me. I know what happened to you. I know what you went through." he said. "No, you don't. You have no idea what I went through. You have no idea what it's like to be raped." I yelled. He looked at me with tears in his eyes. "Your wrong," he said calmly. My heart stopped and I froze. He walked past me with a tray of water and glasses and brought it upstairs. I stood there and my heart raced. My thoughts and emotions were racing. I felt confused, I wondered if anyone else knew, I felt horrible for yelling at him and saying all those things. I don't know him, I shouldn't have just assumed. I wiped a tear from my cheek and sat down. I pulled out a flask and took a drink. Before I could take another, it was pulled from my hand. I looked up and my dad gave me the look and poured it down the sink. "That was cheap muggle booze, I can get more." I said. "I'm sure you can. But I can still hope you won't." he said. I rolled my eyes. "Are you still angry with me because of Grant?" he asked. I sighed. "No." I mumbled. He smiled. "I wasn't angry at you, or Grant. At least, I don't think I was. I was more angry that you were laughing with him. You were laughing with him the way you used to laugh with dad." I said. He sat down next to me and kissed my forehead. "Anna, nobody will ever replace Sirius. Ever. That man... he was the love of my life. My soulmate. He will always be my husband and your father. And like I said, Grant is just a friend. Our feelings for eachother, they became platonic a long time ago." he said. I just nodded. "Now, I'm hoping this is the part where you explain what mission you just went on, and why the Greengrass sisters are here, beaten up in the guest room," he said. "I can't tell you everything but they have to stay here. Draco wrote to us, asking us to help them escape. He wanted us to take them somewhere safe and I figured what's safer than the home of their Professor?" I said. He smiled. "Of course they can stay. I do wonder where Draco is. I didn't see him." he said. "Yeah, there's a lot of unanswered questions with him." I said. He just nodded. "What about you and Theo?" he asked. "We talked." I said. "And?" he asked. "I can't make him stay, dad. It's not fair to him. He watched his mom fall apart and then she died. I can't make him stay and watch me do the same thing." I said. "You aren't going to die, Annabelle." he said. "He deserves better." He smiled. "That's very mature," he said. I just nodded. "Are you ok?" he asked. "I still love him. So not really, it hurts." I said. "I know. Love hurts sometimes. But other times, it's the best feeling in the world." he said. I laughed. "I'll let you know when that kicks in." I said. He chuckled. "One more question," he said. I groaned. "Fine." I said. "What's the deal with you and Lorenzo? You two seem to have a lot of tension for someone you just met yesterday." he said. "I don't want to talk about it." I said. "Ok, but if you do. I'm here." he said. "I know. Thanks dad." I said. "Always," he said. Then I went to heal Astoria. I wonder if I should talk to Enzo. He's the only person I know who actually knows what I went through. But at the moment, I'm not sure he's my biggest fan. My life has gone to hell.