The Other Potter (Draco Malfoy Endgame)

Visions and Letters

Chapter 28

As Dumbledore and Harry walked into the house an ear-shattering scream tore through the night. Molly turned to Dumbledore terrified, "Alexis!" She shouted as she ran out the front door. They could see her thrashing on the ground at the edge of the light from the house.

There was no one nearby and as they got to her they could see her eyes wide open and completely white. An eerie voice came from her as she spoke, "The child of light will know no peace, his life in constant peril and pain. Two paths lie before him, the path of fate and that of oblivion."

Her voice died out as she convulsed violently before going still. Molly turned horrified to Dumbledore, "What was that!?"

"We need to get her inside, Harry be so kind as to fetch Ronald so he can help you carry her. Molly all will be explained in time but for now, she needs you more than you need answers," Dumbledore ushered them all inside and the boys laid Alexis on the sofa.

She woke just long enough to see Dumbledore standing in front of her, "He's coming for him, the beginning of the end is here," That sentence was all she managed to get out before collapsing back into a deep sleep.

Dumbledore looked slightly surprised before standing and walking towards the door, "Molly she must be kept safe, at any cost." He walked quickly out the door and was gone with no further explanation.

Sleep held no peace as Alexis fell back into the vision of Voldemort coming for Draco once again. A dark marble room lay before her, as out of the dark, robed individuals appeared. As You-Know-Who emerged he called out, "Draco, it's time."

Draco walked into the room looking completely calm except for a small tremor in his hands. He walked forward and knelt before the Dark Lord. "You did exactly as I asked and brought my son to my side, unfortunately for you, the method you used left him a bit vindictive. Now before we move forward I'm afraid I'm going to have to let him have a bit of revenge."

He turned as one of the cloaked figures came forward, their face hidden behind an ornate silver mask but as the person yelled, "Crucio," the black flames flickering in his eyes were unmistakable. Mattheo stood before Draco laughing cruelly as Draco screamed in pain for what seemed an eternity.

Voldemort came forward touching Mattheo's shoulder and the spell died out. The Dark Lord stepped forward lifting Draco to his feet and pressing his wand into Draco's arm, "Now we can move forward. You will return to Hogwarts and perform a task for me. First, you will find a way to get a select group of Death Eaters into the castle and second, you will kill Dumbledore before the end of the school year. If you fail, I will kill you Draco. Do not fail me." The Dark Mark bloomed on Draco's arm and he winced in pain as it formed.

She woke sitting straight up and looking around to find herself on the sofa in the Weasley house. Her heart was pounding as she rushed to find a quill and parchment. She ignored the questions from Mrs Weasley as she wrote furiously,

Draco,

He's coming for you soon. Be strong, I love you.

Your Darling

She handed it to an owl and sent it off hoping it reached him in time to give him strength for the moment he would need it most.

She turned to Mrs. Weasley then, "I'm sorry but that had to be sent without delay. I need to speak with the Order today. Please."

"Alexis, are you feeling all right this morning?" MrsWeasley seemed very worried and uncertain if she should even be up moving around let alone demanding a meeting.

Alexis took a deep breath, "I'm ok, just a headache. Mrs. Weasley, I must speak to them as soon as possible."

Just then Hermione, Ron, and Harry came running down into the kitchen, "Are our O.W.L marks here yet!?" Hermione asked frantically.

"Not yet dear," Mrs Weasley nodded her head in Alexis's direction before starting on breakfast. "Lex you gave us quite a scare last night. We thought you were being murdered," Ron told her as he tried to sneak some food. His mother smacked his hands mumbling something about waiting for breakfast.

"Sorry, just a, umm, nightmare. You know with all the bad things happening it's hard not to have them," Alexis saw Harry and Molly give her a look that said way too plainly that a nightmare was hogwash.

Harry stepped toward her opening his mouth but Alexis stopped him before he could say anything, "I'm not ready yet Harry. I don't fully blame you anymore but I'm still not ready to forgive you." She was about to walk out when Hermione pointed to four brown specks that were slowly growing larger.

Five beautiful tawny owls flew in and landed on the table with a letter attached to their right legs.

Alexis fumbled with the knot for a minute before finally getting the letter free. She opened it carefully and scanned the page worrying that she had messed something up terribly. She smiled broadly as tears welled in her eyes. She looked over to her friends, "I got an Outstanding in every class! How did you do?"

The others congratulated her slightly halfheartedly as the rest of them shared their marks and she congratulated them all on doing so well. Molly was much more enthusiastic and hugged her and told her how proud Sirius would have been.

Tears stung her eyes as she thought about her father and how he would have lifted her into the air and spun her around. She could almost hear his voice telling her, "I knew you could do it, I'm so proud of you little love."

The next few weeks flew by as Alexis found her joy again. They celebrated the Potter twins' 16th birthday, the cake was lovely and she got letters from Theo and Enzo wishing her a wonderful day with a rose necklace from Theo and a rose bracelet from Enzo. They were clearly a matching set and were beautiful.

A small package arrived for her and another letter from Draco. She took them out to the garden for some privacy and opened his letter first.

My Darling,

I hope you are doing well, my feeling of unease about you seems to have faded slightly and I'm taking that as a sign you are healing. Still no visit from him but I will hold your words close to my heart when he does come for me. My only wish for you today is that you have a truly wonderful birthday, I love you, my darling with every fiber of my being.

                             Forever Yours,
                                   Draco

Alexis smiled and held the letter to her chest. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply, she could just smell the faintest hint of his woody scent clinging to the letter. She opened her eyes and opened the small package to find an ornate silver ring with the Malfoy crest lying on a bed of soft velvet. As she lifted Draco's ring she realized it was the one she had always played with as they laid together.

The ring was on a beautiful delicate silver chain. She slipped the chain over her head and the ring settled perfectly in the top of her cleavage. She smiled wondering if he had planned that or if was just a happy accident.

Doing her best not to let Draco down even if he wasn't with her, she went and watched the others as they played a girls against boys game of Quidditch. She cheered for Hermione and Ginny as they soared above her. Flying was one of the few things Alexis had never been good at and she preferred to keep her feet safely on the ground.

That night for the first time she didn't have her vision of Draco. When she woke the next morning she knew, Draco was now a Death Eater tasked with killing Dumbledore Her heart broke for him knowing everything was going to change. She wished she could be there to hold him but she couldn't. So she lay in bed playing with his ring thinking of how much she missed him and how desperately she loved him.

In Malfoy Manor Draco lay in his bed staring at the Dark Mark now on his forearm. Pain radiated up his arm causing a dull ache that had made it impossible to sleep. His mind replayed his torture at the hands of Mattheo as his breaths became quick and panic rose in his chest. Every feeling amplified as he relived the memory. Then without warning a warmth spread through his chest slowing his breathing, he looked down to see a small blue glow emanating from his heart and and overwhelming feeling of love.