PRECEDENT : Draco Malfoy II

59

For the first time in nearly a year, Draco tells me everything.

You-Know-Who has infiltrated the ministry through the new minister of magic who has replaced Fudge. One of the Weasleys is getting married on the first of August, and that is when He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named will descend upon the Weasley family home. Toppling the ministry has taken some time, but they are planning for this moment to be the final strike. They believe that Harry Potter will be at the Weasley family wedding, likely in disguise. Even if he is not, there will be a high concentration of Order members, the people most dedicated to fighting the Death Eaters.

"Once the Order falls, there will be nothing standing in the Dark Lord's way," Draco says. "Nothing besides Harry Potter."

We sit next to each other on the porch swing in my backyard. I wasn't planning on inviting him back, but we've set up a silencing charm out here so no one else will hear us, something that would be more conspicuous in public. Our shoulders are brushing, the contact more familiar than it would feel to be out here alone. I tell myself it's because I am rarely out here unless I'm squished between my brothers. Not because it's Draco.

"I can imagine."

"You can't," he snaps back. "You can't begin to imagine what he's going to do once he has control of Britain. He's not going to stop here."

Then, I think of the birthday gifts I bought him, sitting in my bedroom, still wrapped in my trunk tucked under my bed. I'd bring him inside, but I think Da might kill me. He's home now, and I'm vaguely aware he is in the kitchen, occasionally peering out the windows to try and catch a glimpse of us.

Already, I'm slipping up in my commitments. I shouldn't bring Draco inside. Who cares if he gets the books I bought for him?

"They'll find you," Draco explains. "You aren't safe."

"I'm nothing special," I shrug my shoulders. "I can just fade into some muggle village somewhere up north."

Draco rubs his chin then shakes his head. He stretches out, looking at me.

"They're talking about starting muggle-born registrations," Draco says. "They won't stop at trying to find you. In a few years, they might begin to come for your parents. Maybe even your brothers."

I think of my leg, cracked like a China doll. How Terry left me, how the Weasleys helped me but how they might be attacked in a few days. It didn't even occurred to me to warn them, or even to warn Ron. I might not like Harry Potter, but Ron Weasley has always been kind to me. The twins are funny. Ginny cares so deeply that it frightens me. And it didn't occur to me to warn them. It isn't something I'm even actually considering now.

Maybe I could wait it out, but I don't fancy lounging at my house until someone shows up to bring me in.

"Fine," I turn to look at him. His jaw is slack. Perhaps he was expecting me to be harder to convince. However, I can let him keep me safe without forgiving him. "What did you have in mind?"

Draco stands up. He shoves his hands in the pockets of his trousers, "I can sort out what to do with your family when the time comes. There is no use in making them panic now. But we've got to leave tonight."

I stand up next to him, looking up at him. I shake my head, "you can't be serious."

"The next few days I'm not going to be able to slip away," Draco points out. "I'm probably not going to get back until after the ministry has fallen, maybe even days later."

"I can wait a week," I insist. I peer in the kitchen window.

Da is there. He turns his head, pretending he wasn't looking at me. It's obvious he was. At least, Draco and I are on the edge of the muffling charm.