Transfixed: A Draco Malfoy Fanfiction

Chapter 39

Being in the woods calmed me, so I managed to sleep soundly until about 2 a.m. when Draco woke me to take the next watch. I was groggy at first, but sitting by the fire while gazing at the multitude of stars in the sky made me feel the happiest I had felt in days. I gazed at the constellations and imagined my dad amongst them, smiling down, watching over me. In those brief moments alone, I felt peace. Then, I remembered I had brought the book Dad left me. The book that had a secret about me that I needed to know. I had decided to bring it along, because I was worried the Malfoys would go snooping around my room while I was away. Even though we were out in the wilderness, I decided it would be safest to keep Dad's final gifts with me.

I dashed back inside the tent and retrieved the book without waking Draco. I sat back down by the fire and started reading the stories front to back. All of them seemed perfectly ordinary until I got to The Deathly Hallows with the ripped out page. I meticulously went through each page, working to see if any were stuck together. I shook the book a few times and held it over the light from the fire to see if any ink was invisible. I pointed my wand at it and uttered every spell that could reveal something. Nothing worked.

I threw the book in frustration about 10 feet into the trees, then pulled at my hair. I closed my eyes for a moment and tried to calm down, but when I opened them, there the book was, right at my side again. I fought the urge to scream in shock. This was a children's book! Why was this book so special that it could do that?

As a test, I got up and walked to the nearby treeline, setting the book down and walking back. I stared at the trees from my place by the fire, but nothing happened. Then, I closed my eyes, and reopened them to find the book by my side once again. I wasn't imagining it. This book was attached to me, and I had no idea why.

...

Draco awoke at sunrise and came out with two plates of eggs and sausage.

"How?..." I started.

"Mum did it. It's a charm that keeps your food hot or cold. Pretty brilliant, actually," he said nonchalantly as he sat beside me and handed me a plate. I was starving, so I began to eat quickly.

"Hey!" he cried. "Remember what I told you? Nobody's going to take it away."

"You don't know that anymore," I said. "We're out in the wilderness. You never know what creatures will sneak up on us."

"I suppose that's true... Speaking of creatures, what do you think we should say to the centaurs?"

"I was thinking about it all last night. I think we need to go with what we talked about. Offer them more land, less restrictions if the Death Eaters win the war."

"What if the other side has already gotten to them?"

I paused to collect my thoughts. "Well... then we'll have to persuade them that the other side is wrong. Centaurs are intellectuals. They love a good debate."

"Are you a good debater?"

"Yes," I said with a smile. "Do you doubt me?"

"No, but you have a temper. I've been at the receiving end of it once or twice."

"Well you deserved it," I hissed, a flash of anger overcoming me. "Don't argue to me about which of us has acted worse towards the other, because I will win that argument."

Draco looked down, ashamed. "You're right. I really am sorry, Audrianna. For everything I did before. You don't know what my family was going through."

I perked my ears as I heard that, but I knew there was no time to get into whatever he was alluding to. I took a deep breath and steadied myself. "Alright, well, we should probably go. We might not be able to find them as easily this time."