camellia withlock│draco malfoy ✓

60│battle of hogwarts I

CHAPTER 60: battle of hogwarts I

It had been a few days since the trio had taken Melia with them to the cottage. She had used so much energy that day that she was completely out of it when they arrived here. She hadn't woken up yet and the others were beginning to become worried about her. They had never seen magic like that before and never seen Melia doing that powerful magic. What they also didn't expect was her helping them. They had heard so many stories about her. When Ron came back again he told them something he had heard some Snatches talk about. One of them told the other Snatchers about a girl named Camellia Withlock who had climbed in his ranks and had the best success rate when it came to missions. Every Death Eater and Snatcher were afraid of her. Ron even caught a glimpse of her and had never seen her act like that before. At first, he didn't believe it was her.

From beside Melia's bed, a rather loud crash could be heard and she opened her eyes slowly. Her eyes were blurry and she had to blink a couple of times to adjust to the light. She saw a beautiful young woman in front of her and when she looked closer she recognized the person as Fleur Delacour. Fleur smiled warmly at her and helped Melia get up in a sitting position. Her head was pounding hard and her voice soared. She opened her mouth to try to speak, but Fleur gestured a no with her hands.

"Don't. Your voice should be fine but wait for a little time. Just to be sure," Melia nods her head and grabs the water on the bed table. Fleur had put some clothes in her bed and told her that breakfast was soon ready. She nodded her head and began changing when she had left the room. Melia grabbed the pants, socks and the tank top before making Draco's Slytherin sweater appare. She was not in the mood to wear Gryffindor right now. She took a deep breath and opened the door, walking down the stairs. The moment she stepped down, someone embraced her in a tight hug. "Melia!" she smiled as she recognized the voice.

Hermione used a lot of time before she let her go and they sat down by the table. They started eating in silence, not an uncomfortable one. They were sitting there, being happy they survived the fight that happened at the Manor, but they were also silently grieving the death of Dobby. Now he was more a free elf than before. "Since when could you do that kind of magic, Melia?" Harry suddenly asks her.

"I don't know. I have done wandless and wordless magic before, but I have never done anything like that before. It felt so right like there was this voice in my head giving me instructions. I did as they said, which I'm glad I did," she looks up at Hermione. "Because I saved you," The trio nods their heads at her. They are all grateful for her saving them and wondering if what Ron told them about her is true.

"Will you come to Gringotts with us? Your rank can get us in easier--"

"No."

"What?"

"Yes, I had a high rank, but a few days ago I betrayed the Dark Lord. I know very well what happens to people who betray the Dark Lord. I've killed many people who did what I just did."

They all share a few glances at her confession, "So, it's true then? The stories about you killing people and being the best soldier in his army?"

"Yes, all of them are true. I've killed more people than I can count. I lost myself and started to believe that it was the right thing to do. That I was helping when I was making it worse," a tear falls down her face, which she wipes away harshly. "I'm sorry--" she gets up from the chair and starts walking outside. The others let out loud breaths sharing a few glances. Hermione grabs hers and Melia's coat before running after her. She caught up to her at the moment she apparates. Hermione looks around the room, wondering where Melia apparated.

"Where are we?"

"My house--" she moves towards the pictures on the small table by the fireplace. She grabs the photo of her, Draco and Hermione from when she was in the hospital wing in fourth year. The school nurse had taken the picture because she thought it was a happy memory that had to be captured. And it wasn't every day you saw Draco Malfoy smiling that widely in front of other people. Hermione walked up beside her and looked at the pictures. There were old and new photos. Melia had been there many times in the past months and put up some new photos she had taken from her room at the Black's house, with the help of Kreacher.

"I remember this one," Hermione says as she takes the one with her and Melia the first time they visited Hogsmeade together. Melia smiled at the memory. She sets down the photo she was looking at and takes a larger photo of her and her team of Death Eaters. She walks over to the sofa and sits down. "Who are they?"

"They were my team when I worked for the Dark Lord. Very skilled people and also good people. It may sound weird hearing it, but they weren't all bad."

"Is that Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott," Hermione asks and points at the two younger boys standing beside Melia.

"Yes, they became part of my team later than the others. The Dark Lord wanted me to teach them the ways of a Death Eater. They never killed anyone though," Hermione just hugged her as she saw tears starting to run down her face. They sat there for a few hours, looking at pictures and talking before they went back to the cottage. The others got angry at them but were mostly worried. But the two girls didn't care. They needed this time with each other, so their scolding didn't bother them.