Where Your Loyalties Lie

Chapter Forty-Six: Bad News

The next day Draco and I walked together to breakfast. Maddie and Blaise both decided to sleep in. Instead of eating my breakfast, I just picked at it. I was too worried about last night to eat. Looking over to the Gryffindor table, Harry looked upset. This did nothing to help me stop worrying. "Katie, you have to eat something. You didn't eat dinner last night."

"I'm not hungry," I told Draco, pushing away my plate. The sound of hundreds of owls flying into the Great Hall to deliver mail caused me to look up. There was nothing for me. Dad was not at the staff table. I decided to leave to go talk to him and find out what happened last night. "I'll see you later."

Draco's POV

I watched Katie walk away out of the Great Hall until she was out of sight. My owl, Midnight, landed in front of me with a letter attached to his leg. I untied it before giving him the crust from my toast. After eating it, he flew off again. Opening the letter, I found it was from my mother.

Dear Draco,

I regret to inform you that your father was sent to Azkaban prison this morning. The Dark Lord gave him a job to retrieve something for him from the Department of Mysteries last night. He was unsuccessful. Ministry officials showed up in time to see the Dark Lord escape. They know he's back now. The Potter boy ratted out all of the Death Eaters who were at the Ministry. I'll see you when school gets out. I will be waiting at King's Cross for your arrival.

Love, Mother

Father's in Azkaban? He failed the Dark Lord's task? What will Mother and I do? The Dark Lord must be furious. I thought to myself. Getting up, I headed to my dorm. I needed to be alone to let this all sink in.

Maddie's POV

Blaise and I were walking to breakfast. We both slept in so Katie and Draco were already there. As we got to the Entrance Hall, we saw Katie hurrying past us. "Hi!" I greeted cheerfully, but she didn't respond. She looked worried. I frowned as we continued to the Great Hall. Just as we sat down, Draco, who was looking really upset, got up and left without a single word to either of us. What had happened?

Katie's POV

Without bothering to knock, I entered Dad's office and sat down. "Katie, please come in. Take a seat." Dad told me, sarcasm dripping off his lips.

"What happened last night at the Department of Mysteries?" I demanded.

"You haven't seen the Daily Prophet yet?" I shook my head and he sighed. "Potter, the two Weasleys, Granger, Longbottom, and Miss Lovegood went to the Department of Mysteries. They fought the Death Eaters who showed up to tell them that Black wasn't really being tortured. Eventually the Order came and fought as well. Dumbledore and the Dark Lord came and dueled each other. Ministry officials arrived just before the Dark Lord escaped.

"Is everyone alright?"

"Most got away with only temporary injuries or unharmed."

"Most?"

He looked like he didn't want to tell me something, and regretfully said, "Black was dueling his cousin, Bellatrix, when he was hit by a killing curse. He's gone."

Gone? No. "No!"

"I'm sorry. I know you two had become friends this last year."

"I'm going to-to go. B-bye," I stuttered before hurrying out of his office and to my own dorm, flinging myself on top of my bed. Sirius can't be gone! What about Harry? Sirius was his only family he had left besides his aunt, uncle, and cousin. I turned my head slightly and noticed a piece of parchment on the ground. Picking it up, I read its contents.

June 18, 1996, 10AM                                                                                                                                                                                          

Dear Katie,

I hear you're still dating young Malfoy and have accepted the fact that I was wrong. It isn't just puppy love and Malfoy isn't a player like I was back in my school days. Don't judge, I was young, alright? I hope you two are happy together. Maybe you could stop by and visit this summer when your dad comes for a meeting. It would be nice to see you again. You are a kind young lady, for a Slytherin.

Padfoot

P.S. You know I'm only joking about that 'for a Slytherin' remark?

Why didn't I see this yesterday? I thought as I mentally slapped myself. Tears were rolling down my cheeks now. I had a brief flashback of my wand pushing something off my bedside table as I set it down for the night last night, but I didn't feel like picking it up. Sirius had wrote to me yesterday morning. The morning before he was murdered.

Maddie's POV

After Blaise and I had finished eating breakfast, we went back to the common room. I sat down on the couch while Blaise went up to his dorm to see if Draco was up there. A minute later, he came back and told me, "He's up there, but he won't talk. He's sitting on the edge of his bed with his head in his hands."

I got up. "I'll go see if Katie's in our dorm. She might be able to explain what happened with them." Pressing my ear on the door of mine and Katie's room, I heard muffled sobs. When I opened the door, I found Katie's face in her pillow, lying on her bed. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"Go away!" She shouted.

"What happened with you and Draco?"

"Wh-what are you talking about? Nothing happened," Katie stuttered through her tears.

"Well he's in his dorm and won't come out or talk to anyone right now, and you are in here crying your eyes out so I just assumed-"

"It's not about Draco. Now please just leave me alone." I walked back out of the room and back to the common room to report to Blaise what Katie said. The pair of us decided to just let them be for the time being.

Katie's POV

After Maddie left, I took a few deep breaths and tried to have composure. As soon as I got myself together, giving myself a pep-talk to do so (Come on, you have to see why Draco's upset. He's always been there for you and you need to be there for him.), I headed to Draco's room. Fortunately the boys and girls dorms are connected in Slytherin's house so I didn't have to go through the common room and see Maddie and Blaise. Knocking lightly, I received no answer so I went in anyways and sat down next to Draco, who had his head in his hands as he sat on his bed.

"Draco, what's wrong?" He looked up when he heard it was me.

"My mum sent me a letter this morning to tell me my father was sent to Azkaban. Potter ratted him out as a Death Eater."

"That's horrible!" I said softly.

"He was supposed to complete a deed the Dark Lord told him to, but he failed. I guess he's safer there where he can't face the Dark Lord's wrath, but I'm scared for him. I'm scared for all of my family."

"I'm sorry."

"What about you? Why are your eyes all red and puffy? They look bloodshot." A tear trickled down my face, but I willed myself to stay calm as I told him about befriending Sirius over the last year and how he was murdered last night by Bellatrix Lestrange, his aunt. "I'm sorry, love." He repositioned himself to be laying down and patted the space next to him. "Come here."

I obliged and curled into his chest as more tears spilled, yet I kept myself from losing it again. He protectively put his arms around me and patted my back, willing me to let it all out. We stayed there, cuddling until lunch time when my hunger forced us to go to the Great Hall. It wasn't the smartest choice to skip both last night's dinner and this morning's breakfast.

I was grateful that I had a hood as I received many stares from people who noticed my eyes. Along with them being red, my makeup was all smeared. Draco gave cold glares to anyone who stared, which helped some. "You know," Draco began as he poked one of the panda ears on my hoodie, "the ears on the hood probably don't help the stares much." I laughed.