Deception

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ xxᴠ - ᴛʜʀᴇᴀᴛꜱ & ᴛʀᴀᴠᴇʟꜱ

Someone walked up the stairs and I had my wand at the ready. It was late and I dozed off more than once in the comfortable chair facing the fireplace. The door opened and Draco walked inside, there was an empty look in his eyes as if he'd seen horrors that he had rather unseen. He slowly clicked the door shut in its frame and sat down in the other chair.

"What happened." I said, it wasn't so much a question as it was a statement. He was pale-faced and his eyes looked hollow, something terrible must've happened because this was not the Draco I came to love.

"I can't talk about it." He said softly. "I.. We.. I think I'll die if I do." I stared at him with pure horror. He just kept staring at the fireplace with that hollow stare. "He's preparing for war."

I stood up from my chair to console him, but he softly pushed me away. I felt a little rejected but he simply stared at me shaking his head.

"I don't want to endanger you." He said. "He'll kill me. I need you to get out of here."

"I'm not going anywhere." I said. "Not without you."

"El, you don't understand!" he said exasperated. "It's not safe!"

"I am not leaving you! We are not leaving you!" I snapped as I placed my hand on my stomach to make a point. He sighed and got up from out of his chair and hugged me tightly.

"I'm scared." He said as his hands disappeared in my hair. "I don't want this."

"I know a place we can go." I said silently. "I have thought about it for a while now, and it might be the only place we're safe. The problem is, I can't apparate, so we will most likely have to travel muggle style a part of the journey. As they will probably come looking for us it's necessary that we don't leave any traces." Draco nodded at me as he let me go, putting his hands in his pockets.

"It's better than staying here." he agreed. "But.. what if my father did put a trace on us, or on me? He practically sold me to the Dark Lord. I wouldn't put this past him."

"I guess that's a risk we will have to take." I said as I stared at his frightened face. He sighed, I knew he didn't want to put me in danger, but staying here wasn't an option any longer and I wasn't going to leave him!

This was a plan, not the best plan but we didn't have a choice. As the Dark Lord seemed to be a regular here, we didn't want to end up in the crossfire if we could help it. Does that makes us cowards? Maybe, I'd like to think I had another life I needed protecting besides my own.

I still wasn't used to it that I was carrying a child, at sixteen. I was far too young, I knew that, it was very frightening. Did I regret it? No.

"I'll start packing." Said Draco. As he pulled his hands out of his pockets something fluttered to the ground. He didn't notice and I quietly picked it up. It was a simple black card, there was nothing written on it, but I did feel dark magic ooze out of it.

"What's this?" I asked as I held it up. Draco turned around and widened his eyes at it.

"That's my Dark Card." He said as he was anxiously looking around the room as if someone would apparate to kill him for saying that.

"What does it do?" I asked as I frowned at him.

"It's connected to my Dark Mark." He said nervously. "It tells me... my mission."

"Who to kill?" I asked darkly and he gave me a knowing look that said enough. "But you can't talk about who it is, right?"

Draco didn't answer he just kept looking darkly at me which said enough.