Phoenix

Chapter Six

Empty. That was pretty much the only word that described how I felt for the entire day. Just pure and utter emptiness. How could my father hand me over so willingly? I was still the baby he once bounced on his knee. I was still the little girl he cleaned up after falling off of her broom the first time she flew. I was still only a teenager who needed her father to keep her safe and yet here we were. He only cared about the Dark Lord.

"Alena," Draco sighed, sitting down next to me on the old beaten up couch that was right next to the vanishing cabinet. Draco and I had been in this room for hours now, each taking turns throwing spells at the old box. For the last hour though I had been laid out across the couch, fiddling with my fingers where they rested on my stomach. I tried to envision every possible scenario that my father was put in to hand his one and only child, his flesh and blood, over to the darkest wizard to ever exist. Every time I came to another wrong ending a tear would slip down my cheek.

I didn't want this life. I knew from a young age that this is where I would end up, but I didn't want it. I didn't want to be forced into being a Death Eater. I wanted a normal life with two loving parents. I wanted to come to school with my best friends and have fun like every other kid our age. I wanted to party every weekend and have wild nights with Draco in his dorm. Instead I was in this dark and dusty room that was created just for us to do our 'mission.' I hated that we called it that.

"Alena, look at me," Draco's voice was soft as he slid his finger under my chin and lifted so my eyes met his. He sighed again as he wiped his thumbs under my eyes to collect the tears that I had no control over anymore. "I hate seeing you like this," he pouted, leaning forward and pressing his lips to my forehead.

"I know. I'm sorry," I genuinely apologized. I felt horrible that we were already in this terrible situation and here I was making it even worse for him. Draco was taking on all my problems as his own today and I would forever be grateful to have someone as special as him in my life.

"Look, let's be done with this thing," he said, waving his arm toward the cabinet. "Let's go get changed into something other than our school clothes and let's go spend some time just the two of us," he smiled and my body warmed at the sight of him. Draco Malfoy was hands down the most beautiful creature to ever walk this planet and boy when he smiled, it was magic.

"Okay," I agreed and allowed him to take my hands in his as he pulled me up from the couch. I watched as he threw the dusty, black cloth back over the cabinet and then reached for my hand as he led me out of the Room of Requirement.

I expected Draco to drop my hand when we entered the busy halls of the school, but instead his grip tightened as he looked over and gave me another smile. Butterflies erupted in my stomach as we walked through the castle. Draco was known as the bad boy of Hogwarts. Well, one of the bad boys. Atlas and Theo were also up there with him. Draco never showed affection to anybody in public. He was known for his secret rendezvous in the castle, but once the shag was over, he was out the door leaving the girl to pick up the pieces.

"Miss Phoenix, Mister Malfoy, a word please," the familiar drawl of a voice broke through my pleasant thoughts. I inwardly groaned as we both stopped in front of the man with greasy black hair. He held his arm out, motioning for us to enter his office and we did.

"What is it, Snape?" Draco sounded almost bored. He had a much deeper connection to Professor Snape because of the many days Draco got called into meetings with his father over the summer holiday. Draco stood in front of me almost like a shield as our professor turned and eyed the two of us.

"How is the restoration of the cabinet coming along?" Snape asked and I let out a breath I didn't realize I had been holding. I didn't know why I thought he had called us into his office, but I wasn't expecting it to be about the stupid cabinet.