Run || Harry Potter FF

xii || plan

When I made it to the living room, it was already full of people with Harry standing at the front. All eyes went from him to me within the span of two seconds, but they quickly diverted their attention back to Harry. I sat down right where I had last time--on the floor next to Draco, who was concentrating very hard on the fibers of the carpet beneath us.

"Right, so, I've been thinking about how we can do something--something to take back control of the wizarding world and stop Voldemort once and for all like I should have done at Hogwarts...," he shook his head slightly, more to himself. "I think that the best course of action would be finding the others. We need more numbers on our side if we're going to win. There has to be more people out there hiding."

"And how are you going to do that without being caught?" Mrs. Weasley asked, her cheeks inflamed.

"Well, Hermione had an idea; tents with an undetectable extension charm and a fidelius charm, that way they can't be tracked and we'll be able to do magic while in them. I know it may take awhile, but we don't have much choice in this. What do you say?"

Immediately, the gears in my mind began turning a million miles a minute. Would this be worth it? Did we have time to go looking for people? I didn't know how long my parents had or what was being done with them. I didn't know if they would be killed or merely enslaved. And how much time could pass until they could no longer be found?

"I think it's a great idea!" George spoke up, a smile on his face that could only be described as crazed.

Immediately, all the wizards in the room shot him worried looks. Ron cleared his throat. "It's a good idea...but I'm not so sure that everyone should go..." He looked down so he wouldn't meet anyone's eyes.

"Sure, sure. I think Mr. and Mrs. Weasley should probably stay just in case we start sending people here... Would you mind?"

"Of course not, Harry," Mrs. Weasley said, though her eyes were still on George.

Ron cleared his throat yet again. "Maybe some of us should stay behind as well..."

Harry's eyes narrowed in confusion. "Like who?"

"Well...," he looked around uncomfortably. "I was thinking that maybe only Hermione, Ginny, you, Charlie, Percy, Bill, Neville and I should go... Because, well-because I think that would be best."

My mouth dropped open in astonishment just as George stood up. "You're mad if you think I'm not going." His cheeks matched his fiery red hair, as did his eyes.

"I'm not so sure I want you going either, George," his mother said, meeting his eyes. This only infuriated him further.

I stood up before things got overwhelming. "Listen," I shouted, making my voice heard above all. "I know that George seems a little...fragile right now, but he deserves this. And I have to go. I know that none of you really know me and I know that you don't trust me because I'm a muggle," I said with distaste. "But Voldemort has my parents. I'm not sitting behind just because you don't think I'm capable. And Draco deserves to go as well. He's isn't a spy and he's been hurt by this war too." Ron looked down in embarrassment as he realized that I must have overheard their earlier conversation.

George piped up again. "What she said."

"But George--"

"I'm not a child, mum. I'm not going to break. I'm going and I don't care who has a problem with it." And with that, he stormed out again. 

It was silent for a few moments. "Anyone can come," Harry said to Ron finally.

Ron stood up. "Fine. George can come, she can come," he said, pointing at me without looking. "But he can't. Why should we let him? All he's done is hurt everyone around him! He's obviously still working for Voldemort! Why can't you see that, Harry?" he shouted.

Draco didn't say anything. His cheeks only grew more and more inflamed. "Draco, why don't you just tell him that you're not a spy?" I pleaded. I couldn't understand why he wouldn't defend himself.

It was Draco's turn to get off the floor. "I shouldn't have to," he mumbled, just loud enough for me to hear him. He stalked off. 

"Ron... I know you have hard feelings towards Draco. I mean, I had them too... But you know how it feels to lose someone... He lost both his parents to Voldemort. Don't you think that's enough to change him? Do you think he'd still be loyal to someone who killed his parents?" Nevile said, speaking up for the first time. 

The tension in the air was thick as Ron seemed to mull over his anger silently. "When he messes everything up--when he gets us all killed, you'll see." And with that, he left--the third person to storm out.

Again, this conflict made me question the plan. Would we even be efficient enough to succeed? Though there was a persistent nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach, I knew this was my only choice. With one last look at the confused faces in front of me, I left the room to find Draco. 

He was sitting exactly where he had been before we were called downstairs, only this time his face was already scarlet. "Look," I began. "Ron was way out of line. He'll see that you're on our side when you come--"

"What's the point?"

My brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"What's the point in even looking for the others? What's the point in me showing everyone I'm not a traitor? Like we have any chance of beating You-Know-Who... It seems kind of stupid to put in so much effort for something that isn't likely to work..."

I sighed. "Well, what else would we do? It may seem like a long shot but we're at least trying. I can promise you that if you don't go, you'll regret it. I get that you're feeling unmotivated and I get that you don't want to spend weeks in a tent with people who hate you but at least you're doing something for your parents..."

Draco stayed silent for what seemed like an eternity. Being left only with my thoughts, I started getting irrational. Did I make him angry? Was my speech-giving getting old? Did he actually hate me?

Amidst my inner conflict, the look on his face could only be described as utter defeat. He didn't look motivated or even hopeful. He looked completely dejected. "I don't need to do anything for my parents. They're dead."

"Draco--" I stammered as my face fell.

"I'm tired. I need some sleep," he said, and with a flick of his wrist, the lights were out and I was left to back out of the room in silence.