𝐀 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 [Draco×OC]

38: Vulnera sanentur

Ángeles' POV

That lunch in the Great Hall was like any other, well, at least for everyone else-not for Draco and me. We both knew that his plan to give Slughorn a bottle of poisoned mead had failed. I felt somewhat guilty since I was the one who suggested giving the bottle to Professor Slughorn personally-poisoned just enough for Dumbledore to die after drinking it, and charmed just enough for Slughorn to pass it along without remembering who gave it to him.

-

"Professor, I've come to apologize..." said Ángeles, entering the Potions classroom earlier than usual. "I didn't mean to embarrass you during dinner, but Draco was being unbearable. He's not very good at things that involve socializing," she said with a smile, looking down.
"Don't worry, Miss Rasmüssen," the professor replied with a broad smile. "Between you and me, the Malfoys have never been good at socializing," he said in a whisper, laughing. "Believe me, I've had my experience with them."
"What a relief to hear that, Professor," she replied. "You see, I brought you this as a token of my gratitude for inviting me, and, of course, as an apology," she said as she handed over a bottle she pulled out of her bag.
"Mead?" he said, his eyes widening. "How did you know it's my favorite?"
"I suppose I got lucky," she replied, feigning. She knew perfectly well that she had read the professor's mind that night while he was drinking, searching for the drink he most enjoyed savoring. As he took the bottle, the professor's eyes turned white for an instant.
"Enjoy it, Dumbledore," she said as she walked back to her seat, making sure to check that Professor Slughorn's eyes had returned to normal before leaving.

-

I won't lie, the thought of Dumbledore dying made me feel guilty-a lot of guilt. I don't think he deserved to die, least of all at the hands of two idiotic teenagers like us, doing all this out of fear and not by real choice. Couldn't Bellatrix just do it? I'm sure she'd be thrilled to kill another person. I had found out that she, along with several Death Eaters, including my own cousin Bartemius Jr., were the ones who tortured Neville Longbottom's parents to death-Neville, the sweet-looking young boy who once sat with me in that Divination class years ago. His parents had been tortured by Death Eaters seeking information, but they never said a word. They were truly brave.

They were brave enough to risk their lives.

"You still haven't told me how Malfoy gave you his ring," Theo spoke up, interrupting my thoughts.

"Oh! That's right," I replied, surprised. "Well, it was in the Room of Requirement, actually. I was there painting, and he showed up to do his own thing, and, well... I don't know, I guess we talked, and he decided to give it to me."

"Did he apologize?" Theo asked seriously. "You two had been distant for months-well, he distanced himself from you, to be more precise..."

"Yes, Theo, he apologized," I said, laughing at his protective-friend mood that always showed up when it came to Draco. "He promised he wouldn't distance himself again, and he gave me his ring as a symbol of that promise. It seems like a lot, you know? I didn't need him to give me something of his-I already told him that, but he insisted. The worst part is that everyone knows it's his ring, so they must be thinking all sorts of things..."

"It's not like they didn't think that before, Angie," said Theo, rolling his eyes with a laugh. "You two are together all day, now you're wearing his ring-what do you think they'll assume?"