𝐚 𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐩 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐚𝐧 {a Draco Malfoy story}

chapter thirty-six

Rose

     Today was the day we had to bring the Death Eaters into the castle.

     And to say I was horrified would be a huge understatement.

     Draco suggested that we go to the french beach - Claire de Lune beach. Madame Pomfrey had said that his wounds were all healed by now, thanks to her many potions, so Draco was walking again. He took my arm as we went to the common room and up to the boys's dormitory. He opened his trunk and frantically threw all his belongings out, taking his shirt off in between. 

     My eyes trailed down his bare chest, exposing his fit body. He noticed my stare and smirked, shaking his head. "Nothing you haven't seen before, princess."

     "I am not a princess, Draco."

     "You are, to me."

     He pulled out a tailored suit and lay it on his bed. As he brushed his teeth, Draco changed out of his pants into the more professional suit. Blaise and Theo entered the room and gasped. 

     "Blaisey, I think we should come back at another time."

     "Theo, don't give me a nickname. Especially not Blaisey. That's my thing. Also, Draco, would you care to explain why you are showing us all your abs? Nothing against your abs, of course, but I don't happen to be homosexual."

     "I'm the gay one, idiot," said Theodore.

     I poked my head out from the bathroom and the two boys glanced at each other. "Well, then, we won't be interrupting -"

     "We were leaving, I just needed to do a couple things before tonight," Draco said with a serious tone. 

     Blaise's eyes widened. "That's tonight? Mate, please..." Blaise walked over to Draco, patting his back. "Please be careful."

     "We appreciate the gesture, Blaise. We really do. The only set back is that there's nothing safe about our given task."

     Theo quickly walked up to me and hugged me tightly. "I just got you back, Rosalind, keep yourself safe."

     He bent down so that he could whisper in my ear. "When the moment comes, let Draco do the deed."

     I pulled myself back at stared him in the eyes. "I can't do that. You know I can't do that. If Draco stumbles back, it'll be me who has to do it."

     "Fine, fine, just be safe. I love you, Rose, okay?"

     "I know, Theo. I love you too."

     Draco then stopped right before the staircase, grabbing my hand. "Ready?"

     "No, I don't think I ever will be."

     He sadly smiled at me and walked us out of the dorm, into the common room and then to Hogsmead. We linked arms and apparated to the beach we knew best. "I can't believe it's happening today."

     I sat down on the sand, the sun shining brightly on my face. "What do you think will happen afterwards?"

     "I don't know," he said as he took a seat beside me. "I have no clue."

     "Yeah. Me neither."

+++

     For almost two hours, we lay in silence. Draco turned onto his side, resting his head on his hand and facing me. "I've just realized that we have never gone into the actual water."

     "You're wearing a suit, I don't think now's the best time," I laughed. "Why are you wearing a bloody suit to the beach, Draco? And why have you soaked your hair in gel - honestly, we're not at a meeting with You-Know-Who."

     "I just wanted to look nice for later."

     "I don't think dressing up will help us." I messed up his hair using the aguamenti spell to get rid of all the products, leaving him with ruffled and messy hair. "Besides, you look incredibly hot with your hair like this."

     "I hate you, Rose, I absolutely despise you."

     "No, I don't think you do. Remember the cave?"

     He rolled us over so that he was on top of me and he placed his hands on either side of me. "I remember it," he growled. "Very clearly."

     I leapt up to kiss him, then brought him back down beside me. "Let's save that for tonight, shall we?"

     "I can't wait for his to be done with."

     We both stood up and I stared into his eyes while he put his hands on my shoulders. "Dumbledore's dying tonight, Draco, actually dying."

     "It's strange, isn't it?"

     I dusted some of the sand off of his clothes. He adoringly looked at me and smiled. "Thank you for staying with me, Rose." He pulled our bodies closer together and I instantly flung my arms around him. "I love you."

     "I thought you said you despised me."

     "It's a love-hate relationship."

     "Well, in that case, I love you too." I glanced at the watch on Draco's wrist and stepped back, my heart beating quickly. "Draco..."

     He looked at what I was staring at and ran a hand through his hair. "My aunt said 12, it's only 10:30."

     "By the time we get back it will be 11. Then once we get to the room of requirement, it'll be 11:30. Draco, you know I hate this just as much as you do, but we can't disobey the Dark Lord's orders."

     He traced my cheek with his finger and lifted my head up, entrapping me in a passionate kiss. "Let's get it over with, then."

     We apparated back into Hogsmead and I almost toppled over, but Draco's arm held me back from falling. We ran back to the castle, the wind blowing on our faces. I ran my fingers through my hair, trying to brush it out. We did our best not to get caught by anyone, especially Filch - but we had mastered that by now. 

     We got to the seventh floor after a long 40 minutes and walked by the Room three times, thinking of the same thing.

     Bring me to the room with the Vanishing Cabinet.

     The doors opened and led us in. I slowly walked over to the Vanishing Cabinet and traced my fingers over the handle. Draco slid off the snake ring on his ring, handing it over to me. "This can be symbol of... hope. If we survive, this can be our thing."

     "Our thing was the snitch. I threw that into the ocean. How much better do you think I'm going to act with this?"

     "That wasn't you, though."

     I didn't want to argue with him at the moment, so I took the ring and slid it onto my index finger. Draco took the blanket covering the cabinet off and stood back. 

     Then, all of a sudden, a ticking sound came from the door. The handle spun and I latched into Draco's arm. The doors opened and smoke came out through the creak. I spun us the other way, taking us out of the room. "They can follow after us. Let's go."

     Just as we ran out of the room, I heard Bellatrix cackle. 

     Merlin.

+++

AH SHIT WE GOT TO THIS POINT