limerence- d,,Malfoy

chapter eighteen

I walked myself down by the lake, the melting snow squishy under my feet. My hands were shoved in the pocket of my jeans. A Sunday breeze swept past me, the cold tickling my skin. Valentine sat at the bottom of the lake. A letter in his hands, his face in deep concentration.

"Valentine?" I asked, standing a metre back. Originally, my plan was to meet Draco, but he insisted on only ever meeting down here now. The fear of being caught with me and being nice seemed to make him paranoid of social exile.

Valentine whipped around, scrunching up the letter: "Aurora, what are you doing down here? Isn't it a bit too late for you to be here?"

"Well, it's only half past four," I stated, glancing down at my watch. "I could ask you just the same, brother dearest."

"Oh, just reading letters from home." He sighed, tucking the scrunched letter into his pocket. I raised my brows, hobbling down the light hill. Valentine patted the grass down next to him.

He had been acting odder than before. He seemed to be less talkative, not that he had been before. Usually, I would get a good word out of him. Maybe Moody had the same conversation with him about our father.

It had been plaguing my mind, keeping me awake at night. The sky turned a deep shade of grey, with clouds forming. My eyes scanned them, all the shapes, some being animals, others faces. Valentine looked at me and did the same. He muttered under his breath and shook his head.

"Have you heard any more from your father?" I questioned, sitting back on my hands. My neck stretched back with a long sigh.

Valentine perked his ears, his posture straightening. "Yes, in fact, he wants us to visit him over the summer."

I held a breath, my eyes gazing down at the water of the lake. A wave crashes into the icy rocks, creating turmoil. My father hadn't seen or spoken to me for years. All I had heard about him was from my brother, and rarely from my mother.

"Right," I said, my fingers playing with the mud, "I don't think I'll go."

"He already asked mother; she's already said yes," he uttered, his face forming a frown. The left side of his forearm is being rubbed by his palm. He looked uncomfortable, with anxiety brewing inside him.

I hummed, clearing my throat. "Has Moody talked to you?"

"No," Valentine said in an accusatory tone. "Why would he?"

"He had an odd conversation with me a while back," I explained, hoping he would get the picture. "He said he knew the father."

"He's a nut; don't talk to him," Valentine sternly said, standing from his spot. "And if he tells you anything, anything bad, don't listen; just don't get involved."

I felt the anger rise in me. Why was I not getting involved? What exactly was I not supposed to be getting involved in? I followed behind him quickly. My hand reaching out for his, Valentine squatted it away. Heading further up the path, I couldn't budge.

I never like being left in the dark.

"Valentine wait," I insisted, lugging my bookbag over my shoulder. "What is it that I shouldn't be getting involved with?"

"Just follow me and shut up." He rolled, pulling me behind him quickly. I groaned; now the power shift had changed.

He pulled me down into a dark corridor. His head swung back and forth before he pulled out his letter. Shoving it towards me, his hands were shaking. I took it from him, teenager sass, as I rolled my eyes. But as my eyes traced the paper, the shock hit me.

Valentine,

Attending the final game with your sister is of the utmost importance. I'll be waiting for him to come back so I can bring you both with me. Telling your sister is the most ineffective thing you can ever do. The links of potent blood, the blood of the spell creators, must be preserved.

When the moment comes closer, she must be aware of her bloodline. Barty Crouch Jr. is following the guidelines to keep the young man prepared for the dark lord.

Keep her away from that, please. She has to learn, since she won't be ready. I've asked your mother to return the two of you to the manor. On the 24th of June, wait for me behind to grass. I shall collect you both then.

For now, stay hidden.

L.Waterhorse

"The dark lord?" I gasped, my eyes brimming with tears. A realisation of something I wished I had stayed out of.

"Yes," he stated, shoving the paper back into his pocket. "Listen, you mustn't tell anyone a word, not one. Our whole family, our lives—we all could be murdered. Do you understand?"

"I suppose..."

He gripped my shoulders, shaking all the shock out of me. "No, Aurora, you are involved; Father will explain it better than me. But we must remain loyal to our line; we cannot disrupt the plan. Do you understand?"

I gulped down the spit that formed in my mouth. The underside of my mouth was dry; I had gotten involved. In fact, I was more involved than I should have been. I was part of a plan, one I knew Valentine wouldn't be able to tell.

"Yes."

The only word I should have never spoken A simple agreement that I should have just walked away from. But if I didn't, my mother would be killed. All I love is murdered and slaughtered by the death eaters.

How I had judged Draco for his evilness when I myself was becoming part of the scheme Without even thinking twice, I had just said it. Now the weight is along my ankles, one that had never been. It dragged my body slowly into the water.

"Good, now return to the dorms," Valentine ordered, holding tight still to my shoulders. "Pretend as if you don't know, be normal, laugh with Ella, and run off in the night with Draco. Until it's time to go, remain as if this conversation never happened."