Mudblood & Me | Completed

Chapter 29 - My most loyal followers returned

Draco's POV

I took a few steps towards my mother as she approached me and as we met she enveloped me in an almost bone-crushing hug, which wasn't really what I was aiming for. Also not the image I wanted to portray here, a young boy who still hugged his mother like a child, which I was only just past being. I turned 18 a few months ago, without celebration or any thought paid to it. My mother remembered obviously and wanted to do more, but Voldemort restricted her. The most she could do was buy me a tawny owl as my other owl seemed to have disappeared before I left Hogwarts. I did appreciate the owl, she was a beautiful and elegant animal, I had given her a name but not told anyone. To create such an attachment with an animal would be deemed foolish to them. Most Death Eaters don't even really much care for their families, other than as a vessel to pass on the family name. I had named her, Mira, after the star, giving her a trait that ran in my family, being named after stars or constellations. Certainly an interesting thing to carry on through the generations, but it was part and parcel with the Blacks, which my mother once was, every single one of them, including Sirius Black.

"Could you not have used your owl, to send me a message to tell me where you were or what was going on?" She asked as she pulled away. I noticed her face, skin pulled tight over prominent bones. She can't have been eating very much or it was stress, or both. I had not thought of what my absence would cause to her.

"You know I couldn't do that, you saw who I was with at that restaurant. The message could have been intercepted and we both could have been in great trouble and that definitely wouldn't have ended well." I responded and she begrudgingly nodded in agreement.

"I wish there was some other way but we are stuck in our position and we must try to make the best of it." She said, gazing out across the garden

"I'm just here to gather some information," I said, bluntly. "Then I'm leaving again and I potentially might not come back this time. So it's better for you if you know as little as possible." She turned to me, her face pulled in pain. I was leaving her stuck here, alone, again. But she could not come with me, Potter and Weasley would never trust her. Hermione would make acceptances for me but I doubt she would really trust her either.

"You're leaving me again so soon." She murmured, voice low even in the deserted garden.

"As I said, it's for the best." She turned away again as I spoke. She crouched smelling one of the flowers in the beds, she probably needed the distraction, before turning back to me, her face determined.

"I understand, you need to do what you need to do." She said, and then she stepped back over to me again to give me a much more loose hug this time before walking away again down the path. I caught a glimpse of white, as my cat sneaked across the garden, I was glad to see Delphini was still alive. Some of Voldemort's Death Eaters would kill an animal for sport, with little care for who it belonged to. So it was a relief to see her still alive, prowling about like she owned the place. I should remember to take her with me, when I left otherwise she would be killed as some kind of revenge against me, I thought it best to put her in my room now while I remembered. I followed her down the side of the house, she was sat by a bush cleaning her white fur. Her green eyes turned to me and I heard a faint purr then she came and brushed against me. I scooped her up and she let me without protest. I carried her upstairs and to my room, she did prefer to be outside but it would be easier to get her from here.

I left her on my bed, closing the door as I left. I heard people walking through the hall downstairs, curious to see who had arrived, I headed to the stairs. What I saw, nearly made me want to go back to my room and not leave. Stood by the door was a large group of people in grey and white striped jumpsuits and stood at the front was a man with long, shiny blonde hair, which was actually covered in grime but I had seen it enough times to know what laid beneath. The woman with crazy black hair beside him. My father, Bellatrix and others from Askaban, I then saw that Voldemort had left the dining room and was approaching the group, who all were awed at the sight of him. I felt like I could be sick or scream or leave right then.

"My most loyal followers returned to me finally." Voldemort murmured, he didn't need to be loud to be heard, they all hushed for him. His most loyal followers, all imprisoned for their crimes committed at his command. My father looked around the hall as if remembering what his house looked like, I hoped that he wouldn't look up, wouldn't see me stood here watching them, trying not to look disgusted. I had hoped that they would never get broken out, that they would be stuck there to rot like they deserved. But then he glanced up, his eyes locking with mine, I couldn't leave now. I came down the stairs, every step bringing me closer to the group, every step in the opposite direction of where I actually wanted to go. Voldemort finally noticed me, turning to face me. "Draco, your father has been returned to us." I kept my face blank, not showing pretend joy or the real disgust I felt.

"This calls for a celebration." I said, glancing at my father.

"Indeed it does, and I can share with you the hostages I now hold." He said, with an evil grin. So he did have them, but where was he keeping them?