Bloodlines || A Draco Malfoy Romance Fanfiction

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Draco

The walk down to Snape's office was silent. And the lower we got in the castle and down into the dungeon corridors, the more my anger increased. I'd never been more furious at her. I couldn't believe Aphrodite could be so short-sighted. She was risking the safety of everyone that she loved, most importantly her own. To help Harry Potter of all people.

Aphrodite and I entered the study ahead of the professor. While he shut the door, I rushed Aphrodite, intentionally intimidating her with the height I'd gained over her. My lips curled into a snarl as I spat, "You stupid, idiot girl!"

Her eyes widened in shock. I had never spoken to her that way before but felt it was warranted. "Excuse me?" he said, offence ringing clear in her voice. Her hand splayed across her chest.

I couldn't be bothered to care. "Here I was, thinking you were truly trying to clear yourself of any suspicion by working with Umbridge. Showing you were supporting the ministry and ridding yourself of your former friendship with Potter." I shook my head and felt my jaw set as my anger stewed. "But you've been helping him this entire time?" My jealousy melded with my ire. "What is it you see in him, anyway?" My mind briefly thought of a romantic relationship between the two, setting me off further.

She crossed her arms, glaring at me. "What do you care? You've been off snogging random girls in abandoned classrooms when you should be patrolling corridors!"

Out of the corner of my eye, Snape, who had made his way over to the potion ingredients stores, paused and turned from his supplies to us with nothing but a raised brow.

"You do not know who else Umbridge might work for," I shouted. "Or who she might talk to! Word gets around in the wizarding communities, and you know that. If a death eater caught wind that you were helping Harry Potter, you could be killed!"

Emotion welled up in me, and my voice cracked as the anger wore on my energy. "You promised me you would be careful, Aphrodite. This is possibly the most careless thing you could have done."

Aphrodite's eyes widened into deep brown doe eyes, which she averted to the ground as the guilt hit her. Good, I thought,  she should be regretful.

Snape approached us, handing her a jar. "Put this on the back of your hand. The murtlap essence should prevent the cuts from scarring."

She opened the pot, taking a small amount on her fingertips and smoothing it over the back of her hand. I looked at the words, written in her meticulous, delicate handwriting, I couldn't believe Umbridge would dare do that, considering who Aphrodite's father was. 

"Are you telling her father about this?" I asked Snape, my voice low and threatening. Despite my anger, I was hoping there was some way Umbridge would be reprimanded for this.

"Of course," he responded. "But there is little he can do in this situation without raising questions that could compromise her safety." He looked at Aphrodite. "Everything Draco said is correct, Aphrodite," Snape said cooly. "What you have attempted to do is incredibly foolish." He sat at his desk across from us. "Luckily for you, Umbridge is not amongst the dark lord's ranks. And I'm certain the reasoning I gave her will have her unlikely to divulge anything to  anyone else."

Well, that was a small relief.

Snape placed his arms on his desk, intertwining his fingers. He looked at Aphrodite sternly. "I suggest that you lay low, Aphrodite. Focus on your studies, and refrain from inserting yourself into situations that involve the ministry or Potter. Do you understand?"

Quietly, she nodded, sniffling as she began to cry. Normally, it would break me. But she needed to feel the guilt that I imagined she was experiencing.

Unaffected by her show of emotion, Snape continued. "It's late. Both of you go straight to the common room and to bed. No detours."

We both nodded briefly. Aphrodite walked to the door, and then looked at me when she notice I had not moved from where I was standing. "Go on ahead of me. I need to ask Professor Snape something."

She nodded, then left, closing the door behind her. Snape looked at me expectantly from his desk.

I ran my hand down my face as if that would rub off my stress. "She continuously pulls stunts like this. She doesn't want to be on this side of things. It's not in her nature."

"She has no choice. Her loyalty to her family and duty will keep her where she needs to be. Hopefully, tonight has taught her a valuable lesson that teetering too close to the fence can have dire consequences."

Pacing in front of his desk, I continued, "the worse thing is I have this--compulsion--to keep her safe. It doesn't help when she seems to want to walk into danger!" I imagined this was part of the defensor link. An instinct created by the multigenerational vow. To keep her protected.

At that moment, that link and vow felt like a curse.

I must have been on the right track in my thinking, because Snape responded, "I think you need to do more research on the assignment topic I gave you last year. There are a handful of books in the library with sections on it."

Giving a short nod of understanding, I bid goodnight to the professor and left his office to finally get some sleep.

Aphrodite was leaning against the wall down the corridor. I stalked down, and my anger renewed. "I thought Professor Snape told you to go to bed."

"I wanted to wait for you," she said as I approached. I stopped in front of her.  She hesitated for a moment before saying, "I'm sorry, Draco."

I took a deep breath, tempering myself to prevent an outburst. "Aphrodite, this isn't going to be simply patched up with apologies. I'm furious with you. You made the choice without thinking about your father, my family, and even me. How we would all be affected." Another deep breath escaped me. "I just... I need you to give me some space for a while."

As she registered what I asked, she started to blink back tears. "How long is 'a while'?"

She nearly broke me, but I knew this was for our best right now. I looked at the stone wall behind her to avoid her glistening eyes. "I don't know."

I looked back at her as a tear fell. She wiped it off her cheek quickly as she silently nodded.

We then returned to the common room in tension-filled silence. The only sound coming from the tears she tried to contain.