Skin Of Pure Ice

chapter twenty

Two Weeks Before:

We have planned for a week but we finally have it.

The risks that are laid out are...

No one has heard anything from the Dark Lord in a week. All signs point to death but we know that can't be true. It's impossible for the Dark Lord to be dead, unless the remaining members of the Order had managed to break the last Horcrux. But having people who know the Dark Lord, that can't be true.

The Dark Lord has it caged away in a place that only Draco and Lucius could access considering they are second and third in command after Bellatrix "died". Ever since her so-called death, the Dark Lord had upped his security personnel. He hasn't visited any Manors besides the Malfoys which I had to be in attendance once or twice.

I'm sitting on the sofa with a cup of tea in my hand. It's starting to get cold in America. The only thing indicating that is the bitterness of the air and the trees that are white glistening with snow. It's all so gorgeously painful.

Draco is on the sofa next to me. His warmth caught my cold. He runs his gaze over me and his brows furrowed. "What are you thinking about?" His lips are against my ear and yet I'm starting to feel warm, I feel shivers run up my spine.

"Nothing." I sigh and fall deeper into his touch. "Is Theodore okay? Have you talked to him since the argument?"

He exhales and shakes his head.

"You have to apologize."

"He started it!"

"Draco," I start, my voice stern. "While yes, we know that she is alive but she doesn't know that we know she's alive. It must be eating her up in there." I can feel the vile in my throat just thinking about Gabriella in the dungeon. "He has every right to think that she should know and he has every right to want to go to Dolohov and check on her."

"It's too big of a risk, Wood."

"This entire thing is a risk, Malfoy." He doesn't realize this and I don't even think I want to accept this, but no matter what, something will happen that will throw the entire plan off. We do have multiple plans of multiple things that could go wrong. But this is the Wizarding World we are talking about. Voldemort. The Dark Lord. He could be a thousand steps ahead of us and we could be completely blindsided.

"It's the same thing with you and occlumency." He shifts next to me to where he is looking directly at me. "What if the Dark Lord searches her memories to find that we sent a patronus to let her know we know? Not only would the Dark Lord kill all of us, he wouldn't kill her. He will torture her with the notion that she killed her own friends."

Draco isn't wrong and I don't say anything.

In less then two weeks we will disclose our side of the war when we get Gabriella back. I feel nauseous just thinking about it.

When Blaise walks out into the living room, he scans the entire room before getting to Draco and I. "Where's Astoria?"

"She went to go to The Order." I respond and Blaise nods. "She should be back in a couple of hours. We don't have a tracker on her and my mother and Narcissa brewed a quick potion that could stop the tracking of her Dark Mark." The ward that surrounds the safe house does the same but instead says that we are all at the Manor.

Part one: Get The Order to work with us. Whatever is left of The Order. There's been some speculation that Ron Weasley is still alive but the chances are slim. Very, very, very slim. And in recent news. Hermione Granger was rescued from Fenrir Greyback.

I've always liked Hermione. She was so kind to me despite my house.

Things in the safe house have been grim. I don't blame anyone either. We're tense.