the girl with all of the choices

f i f t y - t w o

4069 words

august twenty-eighth- the task begins

~ Draco ~

Theo and his father had stayed at the Manor until last Thursday. It was nice to spend time with him. We talked and ate and just, well, hung out. Like teenagers are supposed to do.

He told me that he would help me with my task, where he could. He also promised to not tell anyone. However, the topic of other people knowing was always rather ambiguous. Theo seemed to think that Blaise knew somehow, even though he hadn't been formally in the loop considering Dolohov was in Azkaban.

With Father.

My scars had almost completely healed. The dittany really helped the process. The left one had miraculously transformed itself into just a pigmental difference, a thin line extending under my mark. The ink had taken over the previously pink skin.

It had surfaced again.

The prospect of the task had resurfaced as well.

Mum had spent a lot of time with me in the library on the fourth floor once Theo and his father left. We were reading up on Vanishing Cabinets, trying to devise a plan for how to fix the one in the Room of Requirement. It would all depend on the physical state of the Cabinet. The inside had to be in pristine condition before I could ever imagine beginning work on fixing its magical component.

Today we had decided it would be best to take a visit to Knockturn Alley, to Borgin and Burkes, to see the receiving end of my project. Supposedly, the Vanishing Cabinet in Borgin and Burkes was perfectly fine, but I had a feeling it needed a few tweaks before I could leave for school in three days.

Theo said he wouldn't come over and bother me until he came to fetch me so we could go to King's Cross together. Mum had already decided she was not going to venture out beyond the walls of the Manor unless she had to, so she wouldn't be joining me on Platform 9 and 3/4.

I guess going to Borgin and Burkes with me was something she had to do.

I understood the sentiment. She had come back home from Merlin knows where to find me bleeding out on the floor of the kitchen. She had been giving me a bit of space these past few weeks, but nothing like she used to.

And now I had to start my mission to sneak Death Eaters into my school and kill my Headmaster. She didn't want me to do it alone. At least, not until I had to.

I was grateful for that.

I woke up late this morning, to sunshine spilling through my windows and onto my silky emerald covers. It reminded me of waking up next to Addie during the Christmas holiday.

She was keeping me going.

Hers was a strange existence in my thoughts. On one hand, she was the only thing I was looking forward to about returning to school. I couldn't wait to scoop her up into my arms and kiss her until I was physically starved for air. On the other, I didn't want to see her. I knew I would lose it when we reunited. I wouldn't be able to hold it together, so she'd figure it out. And then I'd be left without her. But the prospect of seeing her and feeling her love again always won out. For now, at least.

Such a strange coexistence.

I could smell the food being cooked downstairs as I got dressed. We were planning on leaving for Borgin and Burkes around noon, as the Alley would be less crowded during mealtime.

The thing about Knockturn Alley was that you couldn't apparate into it. It had protective wards placed so that the criminals who were hiding there couldn't be ambushed by Ministry officials. So, we had to apparate into Diagon Alley, which was risky considering our status.