Meliorism

05 | the hideout

Chapter Five

The night sky was a beautiful sight I never truly appreciated until that very moment. Stars shone in magnificent patterns, accompanied by the crescent moon that hung silently in the darkness.

Orion, a large constellation, was visible behind the mess of branches and leaves. Despite the elegant view, I felt sick to my stomach. The stars in the sky instantly became less appealing than it was originally.

I looked away, trying to blink the tears from my eyes. Desperately, I focused on the dirt path ahead and hoped Draco didn't notice my sudden change of mood.

For some reason, no known spells were strong enough to heal Draco's wounds. I had no choice but to ditch the car and act as his crutch for the rest of the way because Blaise's hideout was in the middle of nowhere.

With no car roads to follow, and Draco's injuries, there was no way that I'd let him venture to Blaise's hideout alone.

The chilling breeze swept through us, dancing up my clothes with each struggling step. Coloured leaves crunched under our combined weight, leaving a trail of breadcrumbs behind us.

My muscles strained painfully, but it was way too dangerous to stop and rest. We were easy to track and vulnerable to an attack, especially with only one wand between the two of us. An injured boy and a rookie witch wouldn't last a second against Death Eaters; I heard horror stories about what they did in the First Wizarding War.

Draco's bad foot was starting to drag against the gravel behind him. A layer of dirt and sweat decorated his pale and bruised face. "We're close."

"Which way?" I asked quietly, seeing a forked pathway laid ahead. My breath created white puffs in the air as I spoke.

He shrugged, grimacing in pain. "I never walked here before."

I bit my bottom lip nervously. The trees surrounding us extended to the sky, casting dark shadows along our path. Anyone could be hiding in the darkness, ready to hit us with a flash of green.

"Think. We can't afford to stop here."

"Left."

There was a trace of doubt in his voice that I chose to ignore. We had to end up somewhere, and somewhere was better than here, out in the open, ready to be killed.

"Alex."

I looked up at him, grimacing at the close-up of his sweaty face, "What?"

"Your other left."

Blinking in confusion, I looked up and realized I was pulling him in the wrong way. "Sorry."

We hobbled to the other side of the forked path. My face remained hot with embarrassment, even after taking three more confusing turns.

"You sure Blaise still lives around here?" I spoke up after a long silence. My voice sliced through the silence like a katana, causing Draco to flinch slightly from beside me.

"Up ahead."

I scoffed. There were no houses or cottages nearby. "Funny."

Surrounding us were nothing but greens. Shrubs, rocks and blades of grass ran along our narrow path. Trying to find a way out of this maze was a tedious thing.

He broke free of my hold around him and limped forward carefully.

"What the hell are you doing?"

I moved to grab him, but he raised his palm up into the air, gesturing for me to stop. I watched with raised eyebrows when he paused in front of a large bush.