REBEL

15. COAL BLACK

15. COAL BLACK

So far, everything is going to plan.

Blaise accepted the fact that Malfoy and I will be teaming up again without comment and, as I had hoped, announced it during one of the following strategy briefings. I don't know how Malfoy took the news, though, as I haven't attended any meetings in the past week and have generally done my best to avoid him. At least my tears have dried up in the last few days, which is a bloody relief. I had completely forgotten how stressful it can be when you have to put on a Glamour every morning to hide your puffy eyes from the world.

My reprieve ends today. The reconnaissance of the Nott family's country estate is due and I have no choice but to face my new old partner. It's been exactly two weeks since our altercation, so it's probably no wonder my heart is doing somersaults at the thought of seeing Malfoy. (I'm still annoyed by it though.)

As the lift clunks into life and makes its way to the roof of St. Mungo's, I force myself to take a deep breath and relax my jaw. I'm probably the last rebel to arrive at our meeting spot because I deliberately dawdled, which is something I don't normally do.

'Deadliest Witch of Her Age' is what they call me these days. Nobody says it to my face, but sometimes I hear the whispers. I've been Public Enemy Number Two for years, coming right after Undesirable Number One, and it doesn't look like that's going to change anytime soon. Death Eaters fear me, rebels respect me, and even I find my curse statistics creepy. But the only thing that manages to make me nervous is a man.

It's a fucking joke, really.

The ashen grey light of dusk seeps through the grilles and creeps forward until the lift cage comes to a halt. As the gates float aside, I square my shoulders, put on my most indifferent expression and march onto the roof.

Platinum blond. Urgh.

It's still impossible to miss the bastard.

Crossing my arms, I position myself in the centre of the roof and watch out of the corner of my eye as Malfoy saunters over to me. When he stops so close behind me that I can feel his body heat through both our combat gear, it takes all my self-control to stay put. The laughable part is that I don't feel the urge to move away from him. On the contrary. My legs want to take two steps back; my back wants to lean against his strong chest.

"Everybody here?" Blaise calls out, which is pretty superfluous considering the size of our group. There are only six of us, for fuck's sake.

Nevertheless, I nod dutifully and accept one of the Return Portkeys he hands out.

"All right," he says contentedly after getting rid of all the Portkeys. "Thanks to our two newest recruits and our dear Draco here—" I roll my eyes extensively and give Blaise a sour look. "—we know exactly where the Notts' grounds begin and end. So with the help of a few well-cast revelation spells, it shouldn't be a problem to find the Anti-Disapparition-Perimeters. We can then follow them to get an idea of the wards installed around the property. We're not interested in the usual Muggle-Repelling Charms and alarm spells. Today it's all about the nasty stuff that might pose a challenge to our Curse-Breakers. Dark magic, blood magic, that sort of thing."

I nod to myself as Blaise lists a few of the curses that Malfoy, Parkinson and Greengrass suspect to be on site. Admittedly, having access to their knowledge is an enormous advantage. Every single one of them comes from a family of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. If they don't know about the protective measures of their gloomy magical ancestral homes, who does?

"And remember, we especially need to keep an eye out for the alarm spell that exposed Draco at the Manor," Blaise adds. "If the Notts have a similar spell installed, I'd rather we not trigger it. I've got my good shoes on today and I'm not keen on dueling."