Dream Girl

TWENTY - BLUE SPARKS

Draco tried to restrain the other Death Eaters as long as he could without them becoming suspicious. It took them approximately twenty minutes to get to the address they were told. He was just praying that he was able to gain them enough time.

When they arrived there were no signs of protective charms or magic in general. There was no sign of life either. The house looked abandoned and everybody started thinking if they were even at the right address. Draco let out a deep sigh of relief and entered the house. No matter if they were in the right place or not, neither Theo nor Alora were there. And that was what mattered the most now.

"You two search upstairs. Me and Amycus will search this level," Theo's father ordered.

Draco knew better than to argue, he quickly went up the stars before the other Death Eater could. There were several bedrooms. He could recognize the one where Theo was probably staying. There were still some clothes he saw him wear last year in Hogwarts. He also immediately recognized Alora's room. The faint smell of her perfume still linger there. His legs started to shake at the fact that he was staying at the same place where she was probably just a few minutes ago.

He went further into the room, running his fingers gently against her desk. There was a small amount of dust there, like no one was using it for a few weeks but Draco knew the truth. It was just a small detail but it made all this pretending much more believable. Draco couldn't help but wonder if this wasn't the first time when her family had to run like this.

There were several moving pictures on the table. He immediately recognized the wild curly hair and chocolate eyes. He was trying so hard not to cry right now, blinking fiercely to fight back the tears that were accumulating in his eyes. In one of the pictures Alora was sitting under the Christmas tree with her mother. They both had the same set of freckles and the same dimples while smiling. They were both looking so happy and carefree. Alora wasn't more than six years old in that picture. She was laughing happily while tearing the wrapping paper from what seemed like niffler plushie. In the other she was even younger, making a flower crown from dandelions and putting it on her father's head.

"Malfoy? Did you find something useful?"

Draco rubbed his face in the last attempt to wipe the tears from his eyes before he looked back at the other man. "No, it looks like the informant had outdated information. No one was here for at least a few weeks," Draco snapped angrily. "What a waste of time."

"Let's go then! We still have a few more places to check."

It was really hard for Draco to leave the house that day. It was so long since they had to say goodbye. He sometimes started to think that he just imagined it all. That Alora was just a beautiful creation of his broken and lonely mind. But standing in the middle of her bedroom, surrounded by her stuff and smelling her perfume recharged his energy, it gave him much needed strength to keep going and helped him realize that it was all real.

When they apparated to the forest he didn't really expect much. Until now they weren't really successful. They've found a few refugees here and there but no one important. He didn't expect Alora and he definitely didn't expect Theo. Draco was well aware that his father was looking for him to recruit him as another Voldemort's puppet. He also knew that Theo didn't want that.

Knowing that his best friend and his girlfriend were on the run together was both relieve and execration. They were both skilled and strong and could count on each other, keep each other safe. But one single mistake could be devastating. It would mean that both people he cared about the most would be in mortal danger. He could lose them both at once. He could loose all in a matter of seconds.

After they finished their quest Draco headed home. He walked past the main door and continued to the gardens. There was one secluded area which wasn't visible from any windows of the manor. He usually went there after every mission to practice the only spell he wasn't able to master yet. Patronus Charm.

He was trying, in secret, the whole sixth year and up until now, but he was never able to conjure not even the incorporeal Patronus let alone full animal form. Not a single silver spark never left his wand.

It was generally known that Dark Wizards weren't able to perform this charm. With each subsequent attempt he was more and more convinced that maybe he didn't change that much after all. That he was destined to be a Death Eater. That there wasn't much good left in him to be able to produce so much positive energy.

But he was still trying sometimes. Maybe it was his way of self harm.

So it happened that Draco yet again stood in the little hidden area of his family gardens, gathering all his remaining strength in another attempt to cast the Patronus Charms again. He was recalling every single happy memory he had - all the moments at the beach and in the cottage, the one date in Hogsmeade, the first kiss and the second and the third, the sneaking around the castle and mostly the three little words.

"Expecto Patronum," Draco whispered silently but resolutely.

To his biggest surprise the tip of his wand started shining with a bright glow. A second or two later the glow moved further away from him and formed a thin layer of silver mist. Draco was so surprised that he lost his concentration quickly and the mist disappeared in the air.

The burst of vapor was like a sliver of hope for him. Today after several long and dreadful weeks he felt hope again. He knew that Theo and Alora were well, alive and safe, at least as safe as they could be for now and he wasn't hopefully completely lost to the darkness yet.

"Draco, dear, how was your day?"

Draco looked at his mother with tired eyes as he finally entered the manor. She was worrying about him every time he had to leave the manor for some task. She was praying for her only child to come back safe and unscathed. He usually did. At least from the outside. But she could see right through his mask. He was hurting inside. Every time when he was forced to cast The Cruciatus Curse on someone, every time when he had to witness someone die. It was slowly eating away his soul and she didn't like it at all. But she could do nothing about it.

Her husband made a few questionable choices in the past and they all were paying for that right now and her son was paying the highest price of them all. Lucius always did what he thought was best for his family but the outcome was pure opposite. He was slowly but surely destroying what he was trying to protect the most.

"Same as always," Draco said with no emotion, heading straight to his bedroom, leaving his mother alone.

He was tired, more emotionally than physical. Today was the definition of emotional rollercoaster for him. He quickly jumped into a shower and put more comfortable clothes on. As on most days there was a small vial of purple liquid on his nightstand. He was conflicted, today more than ever, about whether he should drink it or not. Draco wanted nothing more than to see her again. Of course there was still a big chance that she wouldn't show up even when he didn't drink the potion.

But the risk wasn't worth it. The risk was too high for a few moments of happiness. He couldn't be this selfish again.

So he opened the bottle and drank the potion, immediately feeling the effect of it. His last thoughts before the sleep came for him was, of course, about Alora. Today he was thinking about those adorable pictures he saw in her bedroom. He couldn't help but think if their children would have her chocolate eyes or his icy ones. He was picturing her with a small boy on her lap with blond hair and beautiful brown eyes and a gorgeous little freckled girl with wild dark curls and grey eyes dancing around them. Perfect blend of their parents. He saw them all at the train station waiting for the train to Hogwarts. Everybody around them was happy and safe.

And for the first time in forever he fell asleep with a smile on his face.