MY FAKE BOYFRIEND ( draco malfoy! )

55| dark times

CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
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"Fine. If you won't join us, then you are our enemy. Leave."

Y/N POV

The darkness outside Malfoy Manor matched the grim atmosphere inside. I could feel the weight of everything crashing down on us, but I kept my head bowed, trying to focus on the sound of my own breathing rather than the conversation around the table. Draco Malfoy was beside me, close enough that our hands could touch if I reached out, but neither of us moved.

I wanted to speak, to reassure him, but words wouldn't come. Instead, I pressed my leg gently against his under the table. His eyes flickered to mine for the briefest second before turning back to the head of the room.

"Severus," Voldemort called from the end of the table, his cold voice silencing all others. Every eye turned toward the entryway.

"I was beginning to worry you had lost your way," he continued smoothly, his pale lips curling into something resembling a smile. "Come, we've saved you a seat."

Snape moved swiftly to the chair beside the Dark Lord, his black robes trailing like a shadow. His face was expressionless, as always, but there was something in the quickness of his steps that felt uneasy.

"You bring news, I trust?" Voldemort asked.

"It will happen Saturday next, at nightfall," Snape replied, his voice steady.

"I've heard differently, my lord," called a man on the left of me. "Dawlish, the Auror, let slip that the Potter boy won't be moved until the 30th, the day before he turns seventeen."

A murmur rippled through the room at the sound of Harry's name. My mind raced. I can't let them get to Harry.

"This is a false trail." Snape said sternly. "The Auror Office no longer plays any part in the protection of Harry Potter. Those closest to him believe we have infiltrated the Ministry."

"Well, they got that right, haven't they?" laughed a man further down the table. Others joined in, their laughter grating against my nerves.

I continued to stay still and not mutter a word.

"What say you, Pius?" Voldemort said to the man seated directly across from him.

"One hears many things, my Lord. Whether the truth is among them is not clear." He said, glancing down at the snake beside him.

"Heh. Spoken like a true politician. You will, I think, prove most useful, Pius." He said and turned to Snape. "Where will he be taken, the boy?"

"To a safe house. Most likely the home of someone on the Order. I'm told it's been given every manner of protection possible. Once there, it will be impractical to attack him." Shape said cautiously.

I barely breathed as he stood and began his slow walk around the table, circling us like a predator choosing its prey. His voice carried the same casual malice, but it was the way he lingered behind each of us, the way his eyes bored into us, that made my skin crawl.

My gaze flicked to Draco Malfoy again, his face pale but unreadable. He hadn't moved, hadn't spoken. We were both frozen.

"I face an unfortunate complication," Voldemort began, his voice now sharp and focused. "My wand and Potter's share the same core. They are, in some ways, twins. We can wound, but not fatally harm one another. If I am to kill him, I must do it with another's wand."