Optionless with Draco Malfoy

12. Expose

Juliette

I was silent throughout the entire dinner. Working on the task was not something that I particularly wanted to do. I hated the idea of killing Dumbledore and repairing the Vanishing Cabinet to allow Death Eaters into one of the few places, I actually felt safe in. When it comes to it, I know that I won't be able to kill Dumbledore. Even if it was on my parents's lives. It taunts me; to end another's life, not knowing whether they were ready for their end or not. It was too much. Albus Dumbledore has made a huge impact on me since I was eleven. I could never bring myself to kill him.

I ate dinner quickly, and went back to the common room, beginning my homework. It was quite empty, as most people were still in the Great Hall eating dinner.

After an hour, the common room began to fill as people entered.

A few minutes before eight, Draco came out of his dorm.

"Bring your quill and some paper. Let's go, Trails." I followed Draco out of the common room and up one of the magical staircases, and turned a few corners, and were left in an empty corridor.

"Where exactly are we going?" I asked in a hushed voice.

"To the Room of Requirement, of course," he gestured to an empty wall. I recognized the wall from walking through the door last year.

"Think about something specific. Why you need to go inside," said Draco.

I followed his instructions, I closed my eyes. When I opened them, a large gate-like door formed on the surface. He pushed it open and closed the door behind. The room was filled with several items. It looked nothing like it did the last time I was inside.

It was packed with old artifacts and old dusty sheets of fabric used to cover items. As we both walked through the room, I noticed that there was one of the sheets covered a fairly large cabinet like figure hidden near the back of the room. I assumed it was the Vanishing Cabinet.

I pointed my wand at the blanket, cast the levitation charm-carefully removing the blanket. I thought of Hermione and Ron, during our first year. Ron couldn't cast the charm so I practiced it for ages with him. Then, on Halloween, he successfully used it against a troll. I smiled at myself thinking of the memory. The good old days were the most memorable.

"I have three books which Snape gave me. Read this one, and I'll read this one," he handed me an old book with a flimsy cover which read Cabinets and Their Perks.

"If you find any useful information, write it down. Later on, we can put the information together and see what information we find," I flipped through the first few pages and began skimming through all of the information. Although, most of it was useless.

"Malfoy," I said looking up from the book.

"Trails?"

I cleared my voice awkwardly before speaking. "At the last meeting, he wanted me to do the curse first. Why'd you volunteer to do it?"

"You didn't want to do it. Really, I was just saving you some humiliation from the Dark Lord. I figured I might as well buy you some time to get yourself back together. Plus you actually have respect for stupid Mudbloods, so I knew you'd feel more guilty to do it," as he spoke, he didn't dare to look up from his book. I wondered if maybe he didn't want to look at me because he was scared of showing sympathy... it seemed like something Draco would do. He always felt so protective over his reputation, and any subtle action could put a dent in it.

"Well thanks," I said quietly. I read a few more pages of the book, then called his name again.

This time, he looked up at me, "Do you want to kill Dumbledore?" I asked, cringing at the thought.