The Purest Kind of Magic

- sixty five -

"The... Grimmauld Place? Is that what it's called?" Draco said as he fixed up his black cloak and adjusted his mask to hide as much identifiable features as he could.

I nod, "Yeah, should be at least. It's probably magically hidden."

"And what exactly were we sent here to do? I thought we were supposed to stop Potter but there's still school going on."

I shrug, "No idea but he probably is Dumbledore's favorite and all so he might have been granted leave."

Draco groans, "You don't think He's expecting us to defeat the Order by ourselves, right?"

Silence followed between us, broken only by the distant rumble of a carriage. I traced the outline of my wand under my cloak. "This whole mission reeks of a trap," I mutter, my eyes flitting from shadow to shadow in the deserted street.

Draco suddenly grabbed my arm and pulled me to the nearest alley and put his finger to my lips to shush me. He pointed at one part of the street, where three cloaked figures appeared.

My eyes widen behind my mask as Draco's gaze darts towards the trio. "Harry, Weasley, and Hermione?" I whisper.

"Yup... Looks like the Dark Lord did send us to the right place," Draco grunts.

"I say we quickly sneak inside behind them and... I don't know, knock them out, wreck the place...?"

Draco snickers, "Sure, let's hope that'll work."

As we decided to secretly follow the trio, a figure shrouded in darkness darts out from a side alley, interrupting us.

"Stop right there!" a gruff voice orders.

Startled, Draco and I raise our wands and took a few steps back to face whoever it was. The trio was also alerted.

"Remus," Harry's voice called out. It didn't take any longer for us to recognize the dark figure to be Remus Lupin.

Draco lets out a nervous cough, his eyes darting between Lupin and the trio. My fingers tighten around my wand.

"Who are you two and what's your business here?" Granger asked, her wand pointing at us.

Draco and I remained silent, it's better to stay silent than expose our identities. I looked over at Draco and gave him a nod, he gulps as he nods back.

"Expulso!" Draco quickly yells as he casts the repelling spell at the group, I grabbed his hand and turned our backs around to run.

"Stupefy!"

--

I opened my eyes and found Draco besides me, who was still knocked out from the Stupefy charm. Surprisingly, our masks weren't torn off.

"You've woke," I heard a voice. I turned and realized it was Lupin. I didn't answer.

Lupin frowns as he looks at me, "What business are two low-ranked Death Eaters having here? Did You-Know-Who really think that you two can take care of all of us?"

I looked away as I quickly nudged Draco to wake him up, but it hadn't worked.

Harry entered the room as he looked at the two of us, then turning to Lupin, "Remus, have they spoken?"

Lupin shakes his head no, "One of them is still unconscious." He pauses as he looks at me, "And this one's probably not going to talk."

"Can't we just take their mask off?"

"...Fuck it," Draco mutters under his breath as he finally wakes up.

Harry squinted as Draco opened his eyes, "No way, it can't be..."

Draco grunts as he yanks his mask down with his tied-up hands, "Happy now, Potter?"

"Malfoy..." Harry utters out, his eyes shaking. "After I... After I trusted Y/n in your hands?"

I gulped, not knowing if I should also speak. I looked over at Draco, who was intensely staring right back at Harry.

"You're still not going to reveal yourself?" Lupin said as he looked at me.

I sighed as I opened my mouth to speak, "...Don't hurt him, Harry." I pulled my mask down as well.

Harry was speechless as he looked at me, then Draco, then me again. "What..? You... You two are... There's no way."

"...Sorry," was all I could say as I gazed over at Draco, "Draco... he... It's not Draco's fault."

"That's all you're going to say? What about the fact that you're a Death Eater?" Harry says as he took a step closer.

I looked down, "It's... it's a long story."

"Potter," Draco spoke, "I don't care if you torture me, kick the shit out of me, or even kill me. Just don't... don't make things worse for her."

"Potter," Draco continued, his voice rough, "believe me, I know I deserve worse. But she... she doesn't. She's playing a game she can't win, caught between sides like a fly in a spiderweb."

Harry's eyes darted between Draco and I, his jaw clenched. The tension in the room hung heavy, punctuated only by the distant rumble of London traffic.

"Game?" Lupin echoed, his brow furrowed. "What game, Malfoy?"

Draco spat a glob of blood onto the floor, his mask askew. "Don't play coy, Lupin. You know exactly what I'm talking about. This whole mission, the Dark Lord sending two measly Death Eaters to Grimmauld Place? It's a trap, a test."

Harry's eyes flickered to Lupin, searching for confirmation. The former Defense Against the Dark Arts professor remained neutral, his gaze flickering between Draco and me.

"Draco's right," I finally spoke, my voice low and hoarse. "This mission was never about.. stopping you, Harry. It was about drawing you out, separating you from the Order, making you vulnerable. Or at least that's our guess."

A wave of anger washed over Harry's face. "So you deliberately put yourself in danger? Played along with Voldemort's sick game?"

I met his gaze unflinchingly. "Harry, you have to understand that I didn't want any of this. Neither does Draco."

Fury contorted Harry's face, his emerald eyes flashing with hurt and betrayal.

"Don't you think," he choked out, voice thick with emotion, "that maybe I deserved the truth? Maybe I deserved a choice rather than being dragged into this like a pawn on someone else's board?"

My heart clenched. I never wanted to hurt Harry, and the pain in his voice was a blade twisting in my guts. "Harry," I started, "Draco and I are nothing more than a pawn on the... Dark Lord's board, we were to be used as tools... the second we bear the Dark Mark."

Suddenly, Draco let out a guttural laugh, the sound harsh and grating. "Potter, why are you making it sound like it's our fault? You don't know what Y/n has been through because of you."

Lupin, who has been silent the entire time, finally decided to speak, "Alright, stop it, the three of you. I think I got the general picture now, but we still don't know what to do with you two."

I swallowed and then looked at Draco, who gave me a quick nod. "Kill us, it'll at least solve our problems."

"Please," Draco spoke, "Tell our friends the truth, I don't want to die guilty."