The Mudblood

Chapter 102 : Year 5

This picture was drawn by https://www.quotev.com/Daryldixonlover a while ago and I haven't had the chance to use it until now but I love it so much! :')

Our eternal bliss was not as eternal as I had thought, unfortunately; after eleven heavenly days with the Weasleys (and Harry, who still detested me), I was stripped away from my happiness by the dreaded Hogwarts Express. If I weren't a Death Eater, I probably would have just stayed at the Burrow forever, perhaps, but life is not always so generous.

I did not allow my festering joy to wane completely, however. While Harry was still convinced I was up to no good (which he was right about), and Ron was still irked with me about the balloon prank (which had left him hallucinating for two days straight), I did get to enter the platform with Ginny, who, despite my true status being known to her, had readily renewed our best friendship. She didn't approve of the fact that I'd neglected to tell Lupin about the Mark, but she confessed that she'd missed me so much over the previous months that she was willing to let me run my own life. We talked of school troubles, Quidditch troubles, and boy troubles all the way onto the train.

To my chagrin, when we got onto the Hogwarts Express, Ginny and I were forced to split due to the fact that Draco Malfoy was waiting for me with my rucksack in his hands and Crabbe and Goyle standing on either side of him. I sent Ginny a glance that displayed my annoyance, and with a wry smirk, she continued down the corridor and left us to squabble.

Though Malfoy's rage was clearly boiling, he did not publicly berate me like his Prefect-self usually found so much enjoyment in. Instead, he grabbed me by the arm and shoved me into an empty compartment while his goons stood guard outside the door.

"Where the bloody hell have you been?" he demanded as he chucked my bag onto the seat behind me.

"At the Weasleys'," I replied placidly. "They took me, remember?"

"Why didn't you Apparate back to the Manor? Why didn't you send us a letter?"

"Do you think it's smart to just let everyone know that I'm a fifth year that knows how to Apparate?" I questioned as my patience began to thin. "And I didn't want to raise any extra suspicion with a letter—"

"Really? Are you sure it wasn't because you didn't want your precious Weaselbee to seriously believe we were dating?" he interjected with harsh rancor.

"Believe what you want, Malfoy, I don't care. The Gryffindors need to think that I'm a depressed wreck that doesn't want the Dark Lord to kill any of them. It's hard to convince them that I'm not a Death Eater and that I still have a soul when I'm so desperate to leave a place that's so...good."

His jaw was set and his grey eyes were dark as he glared at me. "Why'd you even come here at all, then? Why not just stay there?"

"And leave you to kill Dumbledore by yourself? I wouldn't consider us friends, but you know I...care about you—"

"Rubbish," he barked vehemently. "You don't give a damn—"

"I do, but even if I didn't, I can't abandon the mission. The Dark Lord knows where my brothers are now. I don't have a choice—"

"Yeah, there's the truth," he snorted as he shook his head. "Well, in case you do have any real care for anything other than your Weasley boyfriend, the Dark Lord came by the Manor while you were gone. He had some business to discuss with Mother, and he was curious as to where you were. We had to lie and tell him that you went with the Weasleys so you could spy on Potter. He'll want to know some of Potter's secrets next time he sees you, I expect."