Star-Crossed Enemies (Draco Malfoy)

fifteen

I hit the ground with a thud. The floor was cold and mysterious. I looked over at Draco, he'd made it out with me. I was so relieved he was safe I hadn't even realized we weren't in Hermoine's house. Who's port key was this? Who did my owl take my letter to?

"Are you okay?" Draco asked, he was regaining his breath from the fall.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Where are we?" I asked.

"I know just about as much as you do, Adela."

Shit. Here I was stranded on Christmas Eve in the middle of nowhere with Draco Malfoy. Oh, and the just barely escaping death part.

"Wait...I know this place." Draco mumbled. "I've seen it in a dream."

I examined our surroundings. We were in a small town, with traditional buildings that had thatched roofs. Each house had a different color door made of iron, not wood. In front of us stood a large church with gargoyles, and lattice trim, and a single steeple stretching from the base. Church bells were ringing, a service was in session.

Draco stood up and began walking around, trying to identify the place he thought was familiar to him. I realized how cold I was in the thick snow. I'd only been in my night clothes when we apparated, but my bag came with me. I unhooked the clasp and pulled out a wool sweater, one Ron's mother had made me for Christmas. It was a box-knit, cream colored piece with a small "A" embroidered in the top right. Mrs. Weasley was thoughtful like that. How I wished in that moment I could be with Hermoine, in her warm house, like she'd promised. Or with the Weasley's in their big towering house with cookies, milk, and a fireplace. I was freezing by the minute. Draco was in his signature black suit, so I assumed he was just fine without any extra layers of mine, they'd be too small anyway.

"Mark of the Beast...Mark of the Beast. Take me to the pine orchard where the beast lingers. He does not wait for those who fail. He does not show mercy to those who beg. The Mark of the Beast." Draco was humming the words under his breath. It was the same tune that was coming from the church.

"Follow me." He ordered, making his way to the church steps.

He cracked the door open, but no one was inside. The singing still lingered in the pews, as if it were like a ghost, floating to us.

"How do you know that song? Draco, where are we? I'm scared." I needed answers.

He was acting so weird. It was like he wasn't there. He was lost in his humming. He kept repeating the same line over and over, "Mark of the Beast, Mark of the Beast."

I watched his eyes wander up above the giant organ on the altar. It was playing the tune by itself. Above it was not Jesus, but a mark inscribed into the stone. There was a skull, a large pentagram, a snake slithering out of the mouth of the skull, and a sigil I recognized from my Defense Against Dark Magic textbook. It was the symbol of death.

"What the hell?"

"I know this place, Adela. I know this place..." He drifted off.

"Who sent us here? Who sent us that port key, Draco. Tell me, now." I couldn't waste anymore time in the dark.

"Whoever it was, didn't send that port key to save you. It was a trap." He quickly answered.

"Are you sure? I mean what if it's just a mistake? How do you know someone set me up?"

"See that symbol up there? That's the symbol of the Dark Lord."

"How do you know?"

"Because...I'm one of his followers." Draco admitted coldly.

I couldn't believe what he'd just said. I mean, I had been speculating what he was up to with his father, but hearing him say those words, felt like a wage of war. A war between good and evil. Him and I.

Fright and horror grew inside of me. I couldn't trust him. I had no way of knowing his real intentions. Being a follower meant he had to give up his life to Voldemort, and prove his loyalty with a sacrifice. I prayed that he hadn't actually done the second yet.

I could see Draco reaching for my hand, like he wanted to hold it, but I jerked away in fear.

"You stay the fucking hell away from me Draco Malfoy!" I screamed, echoing through the hall, the organ still playing.

I turned around and made a run for it. Wherever I was, I could figure out how to get to Hermoine on my own. Christmas was just a sleep away, so I didn't have much time. I pushed the heavy church doors open and ran down the steps, looking for any place that still had their lights on. I heard his footsteps catching up to me. The cold frosted air whipped across my face, it felt like I was being burned. Like the universe was punishing me for falling for a boy that would only ever end up hurting me.

"Wait, Adela! Please stop! Just listen to me! Please just give me a chance to explain!" He yelled, still following me close behind.

I didn't stop. I kept running until I came upon a pub. It was still open. I didn't hesitate, before going in and locking the door behind me.

"Ah, who's this little minx?" A man called from the booth at the bar.

"I don't know but I hope she doesn't charge much for a night, especially on Christmas Eve. Whaddya say, madam? How much?" Another man made his way over to me.

I'd just walked right into danger. More than I was in before I even walked through this door.

"Shit, shit, shit! Alohamora!" I shouted, unlocking the pub door.

I looked around and Draco was gone. Now was the chance to make my getaway. I began running, further away from the pub and the church. Those footsteps I once heard were no longer following me. I had made it out of that horrible place. But the more I kept running, the closer the church got to me. Had I run in a circle?

"No, god please! No, how did I end up back here..."

Fuck it, I thought.

I ran back into the church, why would Draco have gone back in there anyway? That would be the last place he would go to.

The mark above the organ was gone. The orchestra and music was gone. It was dark now. I looked around desperately for something to help me get out. I noticed a staircase that led up to the church bells. I began climbing. 256 steps. That's how many I counted in my head, trying to focus on anything but the situation I was now in. This nightmare was never ending. There was no escape, except death.

I got up to the top. Giant bells hung from the copper panels above. Draco was there, making them ring. He darted his head in my direction. I feared for my life.

"Please don't run. Please. I'm not going to hurt you, I just...Please." He kept pleading with me.

I had to make a decision. Would I run, and be faced with those scary men hoping to whisk me away for the night, or accept the impending doom standing before me. I fell to my knees. My whole body was so weak and cold, I couldn't take any more of it.

Draco ran over and held me. He took off his blazer and wrapped it around my sweater. He waved his wand and held a ball of fire close to my body. He was trying to help me.

"Adela. I can explain."