Dark Magic

Draco Bloody Malfoy

The remainder of the day was abysmal, say for the note I received from Draco at the end of Defence Against the Dark Arts;

We need to talk. Common Room. Midnight.

I shuddered at the thought as the bell tower chimed twelve times, making my way down from my Dormitory to find the blonde Slytherin sat by Salazar's fireplace, seemingly deep in thought. He did not even notice my presence until I sat down in front of him, readying myself for a confrontation.

"You wished to see me?" I asked, watching the Slytherin stiffen in his seat a little. He took a breath, before his eyes set harshly onto my own.

"Was you ever planning on telling me your magic had come back?" He asked, rather angrily, which took me aback for a moment.

"How, exactly, could I have brought that up in conversation?" I retorted, perplexed. I watched as the blonde threw his hands up in the air, now towering above me, "I don't know, Em. Just a simple, 'oh, just so you know, I've got my powers back!' would have sufficed." He portrayed a rather convincing impression of myself. Any other situation, may have roused a chuckle from me. But this was no laughing matter.

"I'm sorry. I've just had a lot on my plate, is all." I tried to shrug the matter off, but this only appeared to increase Draco Malfoy's concern.

"Do you want to talk about it?" His voice was soft, comforting. A feeling that made me wish to merely fall into his arms and spill my every secret. Only I knew I couldn't. Could not risk the same outcome Harry gave me. The thought of losing another person I held too dear proved impossible to bear...I wasn't sure I could handle such a thing. Finally, I looked up to meet his silvery eyes, placing my hand over his, "Not today." My lips formed the half-smile that had become a regular occurrence, of late. What hope I may confide in Draco my truth diminished from his eyes, replaced with understanding. "Whenever you're ready, Emerald."

The fact that Draco Malfoy was willing to wait where my brother wouldn't brought tears to my eyes that I forced from spilling. "Thank you." I mustered, as the blonde Slytherin gave my hand a tight squeeze, and we resumed our evening in front of the fireplace, discussing our summer holidays...A simple and easy conversation, I was grateful for, that didn't require much thought...

***

The remainder of the week was normal, as I counted the days down to the Quidditch Trials; the only thing that could take my mind off what was really happening in the world around me. With Severus' permission, I ventured to the Quidditch Pitch Thursday night to practise and try to gain control of my broom without falling off or performing unsupported flight. It went swimmingly, to my surprise, and no more accidents were to occur. Which I should have been suspicious of, right away.

The bell tolled to signify the weekend had finally arrived, as Draco and I practically ran back to the Slytherin Common Room and changed into our Quidditch uniform. I tied my brunette locks away from my face, meeting Draco in the Common Room as the two of us, followed by Crabbe and Goyle, made our way down to the pitch. A rather decent group had assembled to try out for the team, most of which were fourth years. Which was great, due to most of the team leaving in Marcus Flint's year. The remaining members we had were Marcus Bletchley and Adrian Pucey, our Chasers, both in their final year at Hogwarts and Draco and I; Seeker and Keeper. We required two Beaters and one additional Chaser for our team.

One of the students, Matilda Bliss, had applied every year and never made the team, due to her being a girl and me being the only exception on Severus' orders. Decidedly, this year, I was going to keep a close eye on her and see how well she fared.

"Morning, everyone!" I called out over the squabbling crowd, bringing them to a silence as they waited for me to continue speaking. "We've got a lot of you to get through. I want you to team up, choose your positions and we're going to have a friendly." I instructed, exchanging a swift glance from the current team members. They all appeared to approve. Within moments, the candidates were in the air and the match had commenced...

Crabbe and Goyle's efforts were futile, as they both proved to be useless on the Quidditch Pitch. Had I not reasoned with Draco, I feared he may have actually chosen them for Beaters. A decision, I was certain, would have costed us the entire season. Fortunately, he came around to the idea, and we began looking at other students.

"I really think we should go for Bliss as Chaser. Did you see how quick she was on a broom?" Draco spoke, to which I nodded in agreement as we sat in the changing rooms following the try-outs. The applicants were waiting on the pitch for us to finish deliberating, though the discussion had lasted longer than anticipated.

"I agree. And, perhaps, Sebastian Redwood for Beater. Which leaves one position left." I chimed, trying to contain my excitement.

The two remaining team members exchanged a swift glance, "She did do well, considering she used a school broom." Marcus agreed. I watched as Adrian nodded in agreement, "Might need a new one, though, in time for the first match."

"I'll sort it out with my father." Draco interjected, satisfying the pair.

"Which leaves one Beater to go with Redwood." I sighed, looking at the names remaining on the chalkboard.

"Harwin, maybe?" Pucey suggested, but Draco shook his head. "Too uneasy at a high altitude."

"Sallow?" Marcus pondered, as we recalled his skill in flight, along with his strong upper-body strength and ability to hit the Bludger almost-perfectly every time. Without a swift exchange of confirmation, our team had been assembled the recruits and were relaying announcing those that had made the cut. To say Matilda Bliss was ecstatic would be an understatement, as she took off and circled the field screaming. Crabbe and Goyle were disappointed, seemingly oblivious to how terribly they played. Draco would have some explaining to do, in their eyes. By the time we vacated the field, the Gryffindor Team were commencing their own try-outs. As we crossed paths with the group, I noticed my brother was absent, instantly reminded of his detention with Dolores Umbridge.

"Miss Potter," I glanced up, meeting the guise of Professor McGonagall, eyes expectant, "Professor Dumbledore would like to see you."

A loud sigh suddenly emitted from Draco beside me, irritated at the Head of Gryffindor's words, "Doesn't Dumbledore have anything better to do than call you to his office every five minutes?" A light chuckle managed to escape me, taking me entirely by surprise as I shook my head, "Unfortunately, not. But I'll let you know if it's anything interesting, I promise."

This promise would not be kept, however, for the moment I set foot into the Headmaster's Office, I found my Godfather, towering over Professor Dumbledore with a voice like thunder. I have never heard anyone address the omnipotent sorcerer in such a way before, and Remus was entirely unaware of my presence in the room.

"WELL, FIND ONE! YOU'RE THE MOST POWERFUL WIZARD IN THE WORLD! IF ANYONE CAN FIND A CURE IT'S YOU!"

I flinched slightly at the disparity in his tone, the crack when he shouted too loudly as wet tears streamed down his cheeks, seeping into the various scars that danced across his pale complexion. It had been less than a week since the previous full-moon. But Dumbledore, entirely un-phased by his outburst, merely turned to face me with a twinkle in his eye, "Ah, Miss Potter."

Remus swiftly averted his attention onto my, the anger in his eyes quickly faltering, "Emerald," he croaked, his arms open wide as I ran towards him and fell into them. But I didn't cry. I had cried enough in the past week to last a lifetime. But Remus did. Quietly, but I felt his tears drop onto the top of my head. His voice found a strength I desperately needed, as he spoke four simple words. A promise. That I knew Remus Lupin would see through even if it killed him.

"We. Will. Find. one."

*A/N

AHHH! I'm so sorry I'm a terrible Author who has kept you all waiting for wayyy too long! Between wedding planning and the new Hogwarts Legacy game coming out, I really struggled to find the time to update and I can't apologise enough! I've been having horrendous Writer's Block which is why this chapter is so short but I needed to get something out so apologies as I know it's not my best. I am hoping to be updating much more often, even if it is as little as twice a week. I'll aim for a Friday!

Thank you all so so much for sticking around. Finally....Emerald has some hope. Better, more uplifting chapters to come, promise!

Keep reading, my lovelies!

Rebecca xoxo