Optionless with Draco Malfoy

32. Ministry of Magic

Juliette

"No. This time it's much more dangerous for you to go. I can't let you do this, Trails."

I thought that taking the locket from Umbridge  was going to be hard. I was wrong, convincing Draco Malfoy to do this was much more difficult.

"It's going to be fine. You can come too," I added, but I already knew he wouldn't.

"You're asking me to go on a suicide mission. The Ministry is infested with other Death Eaters. If they catch me helping you, I'm dead and so are you."

"Well, dying isn't exactly the worst thing. A quick Avada Kedavra would be a much more pleasant way of dying rather than You-Know-Who torturing me," I said dramatically. "Neither of us wanted to become Death Eaters, but we both did," I pulled up my sleeve revealing the skull and snake tattooed on my left forearm.

"Draco, you have to understand that the things that I've had to done, isn't anything that I'm proud of. I'm not just proving it to anyone, but I need to prove it to myself that there's still good in me. If I'm right, then I'm going to destroy that locket with whatever I can. It may not seem like it to everyone else, but getting rid of that thing is another step to defeating Voldemort."

Out of the blue, he kissed me. His lips came crashing into mine and I responded by kissing him back. Before I knew it, my fingers were tangled in his blonde hair. All of my thoughts drifted away and the only thing that was on my mind was him.

Slowly he pulled away, but kept his hands around my waist. I sighed, "That doesn't change my mind about my plan you know," I crossed my arms.

"Maybe it wasn't supposed to," he said slyly. He stiffened and said, "When are you planning to go to the Ministry?"

"In two days, have you changed your mind about me going? I mean, it doesn't really matter what you think, because regardless, I'm still going," I said determinedly.

"No, because you're not going to listen to me. You're still going to do it even if I messed up your potion."

I smiled and took it that he approved of the plan. Although I had to admit, he was right. I would have continued forward with it even if he didn't want me to do it.

I kissed him on the cheek, "You know, you're really not as bad as you make everyone believe that you are."

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It was now the beginning of August and the potion was ready. It didn't take as long to brew as it did during my second year because we didn't have to steal ingredients from Snape's secret potions store at Hogwarts. Krogee assisted me in brewing the potion and finding the items needed.

I added a strand of Aunt Myra's hair into the potion. The thick consistency bubbled more and the sizzling sound grew louder. I poured it into a small glass and smelt it. It carried my aunt's scent, but it also smelt disgusting from the other ingredients.

There was enough of the potion for another two days at the Ministry if I needed it.

My aunt and Krogee watched as I downed the glass of gooey grossness. It tasted horrible, much worse than I expected; it tasted like Brussels sprouts which had gone bad. I could feel myself growing a few inches taller and my face began to change.

"Juliette looks exactly like Mistress," the house-elf stated as he examined my appearance.

My aunt gave me a funny look, "Are you sure? I can just go as myself and try to retrieve it-"

"Aunt Myra, I promise I have my own plan. I need to go now. I have one hour," I said quickly. My aunt sighed, knowing that I had to be the one to do it. After all this time, I knew exactly what I was looking for. It had to be me.