Healing // d.m.

| 45 |

HIS wand felt like lead in his hands, but nonetheless he gripped it tight. He promised the Ministry as he promised himself that when the time comes, he won't hesitate to kill. If he needed to be a murderer to save the world, to save Catherine, he had to do it; even if it cut a piece of himself every time he saw life draining from someone's eyes. He decided not to count the number of people that perished under his wand.

Draco never felt this heightened amount of adrenaline coursing through his veins before. Sweat beading down his forehead, some rolling down the side of his cheek. Theo was standing far too close to his back, one step further he was sure he could hear him breathing. But then again, he was close to heaving already.

"Fucking calm down, Theo." Blaise harshly whispered from across them. The three of them along with some members of the Auror stood by the backdoor of the Mansion, waiting for the sign to enter.

His father's new mansion was located in the outskirts of London, charmed with layers of magic, even one that sank the house to the ground as camouflage. Draco and his Slytherin team had been working for weeks to uncover it and yesterday they did.

"I am calm. I am calm." Theo recited, "I am calm as the wind..."

If Draco himself was not filled with terror he would have laughed at that. He does that every time they do this, but Draco felt it too. It doesn't get any easier.

The Mansion has a total of four floors and they had estimated that Lucius Malfoy would not be here, nor the stones. This was an approach to slim down the numbers of their army and strip them of their resources. For the past two months they had successfully infiltrated three of their bases, slaughtering a third of their people. There was a pit of dread settling in his stomach after each successful raid. The fact that they keep their defences low and they keep winning, it was like something big was about to drop in front of them soon.

For now he kept Catherine's advice in mind, to keep on ambushing them. At the thought of her, his chest fluttered and warmth spread. It was a Monday so she just finished a 72-hour shift. That dimwit Christopher must have something to do with that schedule, intentionally placing her on duty through the weekends. Fucking twat.

With her written exams coming up, Catherine has been working herself to the bone. Just last week she gave him a heart attack when she didn't come home and he found out she had fainted at the Centre. They kept her overnight and he stayed with her throughout, glaring at Christopher every chance he got. Thankfully all she needed was rest and food. The woman didn't even remember to bloody eat, that was how much she worked. How much being a healer meant to her. He gave her an earful the next day when she woke up and forced her to take the day off. Even her petty friends agreed.

Draco looked up at the sky above. The night sky was dark, clear and littered with stars. The moon hiding behind an angry cloud, its light muddled into a blurry glow. He just hoped she was now at home resting. It did not help that he was on this raid, which usually makes her fuss like a mother hen when he returns. He even told his mother that if Catherine came over, she should demand her to sleep, snuck a sleeping draught if she could.

"Do you feel anything?" Adrian, who was standing behind them, asked Blaise. His chin pointing to the ruby wedding ring on his finger. They were all taking turns using it during raids. In hopes that a certain event could spark life, magic or anything. They even monitored if the person using it had increased fighting or healing powers, but found nothing. Draco used it once and it was fruitless, he felt like a failure that day.

"None." Blaise replied, his fingers toying with the gem. They all grunted a curse.

Just as Draco observed the back garden, which was grand and filled with statues of unknown Gods, Weasley appeared through the door. "First floor clear." He muttered, gesturing for them to enter.