~The Slytherin Princess~ Draco Malfoy

F O U R T Y S E V E N

"We need to go see it, tonight." Draco mumbled to her as the group sat down for lunch, "just to make sure it's okay."

Adeline nodded numbly, the news putting her off her food.

The first day rolled by quickly and as the rest of her friends ate dinner Adeline felt sick to her stomach thinking of what her and Draco had been assigned to do.

"Adeline," Theo called out to her, "you're not eating."

It was true, the girl hadn't touched her meal and wasn't planning on touching it. Sending a smile to Theo, she picked up her fork, picking at the Shepard's Pie laying limply on her plate. Looking up, the teen sighed as she met Theo's expecting gaze. Seeing no choice, the girl scooped up a fork-full of mash and hesitantly placed it in her mouth.

"See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" The skinny, dark haired boy joked.

"I hardly see how my girlfriends eating habits are any of your business, Nott." Draco told him boredom lacing his tone, "she is after all my girlfriend, not yours."

"I'm just looking out for her, mate." Theo scoffed, offended by his remark, "it doesn't take a genius to work out she's hardly been eating recently."

"And it doesn't take a genius to figure out I can speak for myself." Adeline snapped to the pair, pushing her plate away and standing up, "I'm going back to the dorm."

"Adeline!" Draco yelled to her on the way out, the teen turned back expectedly, "10pm."

She took a shaky breath as she nodded numbly, immediately knowing why he had told her a random time. Wobbly, the teen raced towards the Slytherin dungeons.

"Pureblood." She gasped out the password, immediately racing inside the common room and up to her dorm.

"Are you okay?" The teen ignored the voice, bolting into the bathroom and letting her trembling body collapse, dry heaving into the toilet.

"What's up with you?" She froze at the voice, red-rimmed eyes meeting a chocolate brown pair.

"Daphne." The name sounded foreign to her, not uttering it in so long, "What are you doing here? It's dinner time."

"I already ate." The girl brushed it off, "what are you doing here? I can tell you clearly haven't eaten."

"Not hungry." Adeline lied, "look, I'm sorry for what happened at Malfoy Manor a while back, I was stressed and upset. I know it's not an excuse-"

"Adeline, it's fine." Daphne told her softly, "you're going through a lot at the moment. I don't understand, but I can try to."

"You're the bestest friend I've ever had." Adeline whimpered, "please don't leave me."

"Never." The Greengrass mumbled and the pair found themselves locked in a heavy embrace, "now, tell me what's happened."

"It's the Dark Lord," Adeline told her, ashamed to even utter his name, "he's given me and Draco a task. Oh Daphne, it's horrid."

"You can tell me." The girl soothed, rubbing a comforting arm up and down her friends back.

"That's the thing," Adeline moaned, "I can't, or he'll kill me, he'll kill Draco. We can't tell anyone."

"Is there... is there any way I could help?" Daphne asked hesitantly, like she didn't know weather to offer the support, Adeline still felt touched anyways.

"No," she shook her head determinedly, "there's not, but even if there was I wouldn't let you. I couldn't let you get involved with this."

"It can't be that bad." Daphne furrowed her brows as she relied ignorantly, "it's not like you have to murder someone or anything."

Adeline let out a dry chuckle, masking the truth behind a fake smile.

"No," she pretended to agree, "it's not like I have to murder anyone."

Later that night, when the dormitory fell silent, Adeline crept out of her bed, dressed only in her nightgown with a robe thrown over the top, and descended the stairs, meeting Draco in the empty common room.
The room was cold, embers from the slowly dying fire being the only wavering light source.

"Are you ready to go?" Draco asked her, "you don't have to come with me, you know? I can go on my-"

"I wouldn't make you do this alone." Adeline butted in, the pair whispering their words as they quietly ascended the stairs to the seventh floor.

"I don't quite know where it is," Draco explained, "but then I thought of the room of requirement, it provides whatever you need, right? So, if we go there, maybe it'll show us the vanishing cabinet."

"You're so smart." Adeline marvelled, before chuckling, "but I know you nicked the idea from Potter."

"Shut up." Draco simply replied, glowering at the floor.

Adeline only sniggered, pushing her body to keep up with Draco's deliberately fast pace. By the time the pair had reached the seventh floor, the teen was exhausted, not used to doing so much exercise.

"It's here." Draco breathed, closing his eyes and pacing up and down the corridor three times. Adeline marvelled at the boy like he had gone insane.

"What's here?" She questioned, "there's nothing here, Draco I swear if you've brought me all the way up here for no reason-"

"Shhh." He glared at her, continuing his pacing, shooting Adeline an 'I told you so' expression as a door magically appeared in the wall from out of no where.

"Now, I know we live in a world full of magic," she started, staring in disbelief at the door, "but how in the world do you create something out of nothing? How do you just create a whole room?"

"Do I look like a scientist to you?" Draco asked her, rolling his eyes as he pushed open the door handle, "stop overthinking and let's go."

Huffing, the teen followed his orders, entering through the door, becoming perplexed at the amount of rubbish that was piled high in the room.

"Oh, come on!" She groaned out as Draco separated from her, apparently not knowing where to look first, "how in the actual hell are we supposed to find-"

"Found it." Draco interrupted, "get your whiny arse over here now."

"Oi!" Adeline complained, "you're supposed to be my boyfriend, don't talk to me like that."

"If you keep on being this annoying I won't be." Draco joked, causing Adeline to pout back at him.

The mood suddenly fell sour as the blonde boy pulled a sheet off the cabinet, revealing it in it's full glory. Adeline gulped, staring up at the deep wooded, seemingly harmless storage cabinet. However, she knew far better, she knew the true function of the object and it's use: to bring Death Eaters into Hogwarts.

"So this is it then?" Adeline breathed out, not daring to take a step towards the thing.

"This is it." Draco confirmed.