Ruthless : d.malfoy [ REWRITING ]

PART 40

                                          A WAR was coming.

It was ever-present , looming in the air like the humid shadows of rain-filled clouds , molten into the putrid smell of wet ashes - and the occasional deluge could only keep it away for a few lasting moments , before it crawled into the hearts of all once again - an omnipotent reminder of what was to come in the near future.

And yet , when the boy with platinum hair looked at the girl with cerulean eyes , her hands tucked into the pockets of her trousers , hair escaping the woollen cap on her head ; as well as at the rest of his friends fooling around - sounds of their laughter feasibly melting into the chatter of the crowd , he felt as though nothing had really changed in the past few months. Swathes of silver snow lay across the cobblestone streets of Hogsmeade. Wreaths of golden leaves , tiny bronze bells and strings of fairy lights adorned the shop fronts and the wooden shingles - the sun hidden behind the briny sky.

Before long however , he saw Evanna pull Pansy away from the crowd.

"Go ahead" , Evanna said. "Pansy and I will catch you later."

Draco raised a brow. "Join us soon", He affirmed - and the others nodded , before walking away. Pansy turned to face Evanna , questioning ,"What ?"

Evanna beckoned Pansy , the latter rubbing her hands together for she had forgotten her gloves -both falling into step beside each other as Evanna spoke ,"I saw the Golden Trio walking towards the Shrieking Shack. They were saying something about horcruxes."

Pansy's eyes widened. "How did they know about horcruxes ?"

"Which is why I want to follow them."

"And so you asked me to.... tag along ?"

"Makes it less suspicious , we could just be two students passing by."

"You know that is not true."

The duo trudged through the snow ,  the wind biting at their skin , the white hush of early December strangely calming. They strolled casually through the streets lined with emerald pines - shreds of the deepest shades of green appearing between the brutal , unforgiving ice that lacerated the ground. The Trio walked ahead of them ,and Pansy could clearly see Hermione irately shake her head at some possibly foolish prospect Harry or Ron may have presented. 

They halted in their steps when the Gryffindors a few feet ahead of them stopped , both Evanna and Pansy hiding behind a tree.

"We could always use an Invisibility charm to get closer and hear what they are saying" ,Pansy muttered.

"Yes , and that would leave footprints in the snow close to them ,  which they would quite blatantly see", Evanna whispered back - brows furrowing in concentration as she tried to lip-read them for the Trio spoke in controlled , hushed voices.