Keeping me Sane {Draco Malfoy}

10: Welcome to The Burrow

I try to calm my breathing as I stop to look at my surroundings. The only indication of where I am is the distance between The Burrow and I. The Weasley kids and I used to always play tag in this field, causing me to reminisce the joyful memories before all this agony. In a way I feel the poorly timed memories are a way to help me cope with the unimaginable situation at hand.

"Cassidy Milburn." A wicked, singsong voice sounds from behind me cutting my thoughts short and freezing me in my place. "Cassidy." They quietly sing again, igniting more fear within me as I realize I don't recognize the voice.

I spin around to face where it came from, to face none other than Bellatrix Lestrange. Portions of her face are covered by the strands of wheat, her menacing smile falters as she meets my eyes. As she slowly makes her way closer to me her eyes drop to my wand, watching as I tighten my grip on it.

"I've heard a lot about you lately." She raises her wand to my hair, lifting a curl briefly before letting it drop in the same place as before. "Your vow with Draco." She whispers into my ear, much too close for comfort.

"Wait you- you know?" I frown, unsure of how to react. My eyes cautiously follow her every movement.

"Oh, we all do dear." She furrows her brows, yet her eyes show her pleasure watching my wariness. "The Weasley's don't know, do they? How about Potter?" She raises a suggestive eyebrow, a smug smile tugging at her lips. I take in a sharp breath, all the dreadful possibilities of their reactions flash through my mind.

"No, they don't." I mutter quietly, worried someone may be lurking.

"Good, we don't want them to know." She begins to slowly circle around me, every once in a while lifting a strand of my hair just to let it fall. "So beautiful, no wonder Draco likes you." She hums. "We're all proud of you Cassidy, don't ruin that by telling the blood traitors." Bellatrix sneers as she comes to face me again.

"You're not exactly the people I would want make proud." I point out causing her to feign a hurt expression. She quickly drops the act to show a glare.

"Us being proud is what's keeping you alive." Her wicked smile grows again with each word. "If you lose our trust, you're instantly on the wrong side of the war." She scowls, stepping back into the wheat, her evil laugh following.

Black clouds sweep up from the ground, covering her before the darkness shoots up through the sky. I push through the wheat as I follow her dark cloud racing through the air, completely captivated, almost obsessed with Bellatrix's insanity. The Burrow suddenly erupts in flames as the death-eaters clear the sky.

I burst through the wheat instantly wrapping my arms around the my baby brother, his small hands clinging to my shirt. He's heartbroken and confused, much like the rest of us, but his innocence makes him lost in a completely different sense of the word. Kingsley wraps his legs around my torso as his arms latch together behind my neck. I stand watching the fire in awe, his sobs filling the silence as his head leaned against my shoulder. I glance at the horrified crowd, noticing someone is missing.

"Where's Lincoln?" I breathe. Fred instantly approaches me taking Kingsley from my hold, as if they had a plan for the moment I realized my brother was missing. Kingsley hopelessly reaches out for me as Fred takes him away, followed by George. Kingsley's sobs becoming louder the farther they go. "Where's my brother?" Tears string my eyes as I pull my attention away from Kingsley and the twins, once again surveying the crowd in hopes I made a mistake.

"Cassidy." Ron places his hand on my shoulder, as Ginny takes my hand giving it a comforting squeeze. "He brought Kingsley out of the house and ran after you into the field." He explains cautiously, as Ginny subtly loses grip with time.