Quocumque Modo Part II: The Promise

Promise Broken

 "You won't leave again?"

"Can't now. Even if I wanted to."

*****

"Greengrass, can I talk to you a second?" Draco asked after dinner in the common room. She nodded and he pulled a small, folded and sealed, piece of parchment from his pocket. "I need you to put this on Valeria's nightstand after she's asleep." Daphne was taken aback.

"And why should I do anything for her?" Daphne asked, folding her arms.

"I don't give a damn about your little feud, you just need to do this one thing," Draco said, aggravated. He was truly agitated, his mind reeling with anxiety and he had no patience for Daphne's grudges. Daphne seemed to take his tone seriously and took the parchment from him.

"Anything I should know?" she asked.

"No. Keep that out of sight until you put it on the nightstand and do not tell a soul. Understand?" Draco said. Daphne nodded and shoved it away in her robes. Draco curtly thanked her and made his way out of the common room for his final trek to the Room of Requirement to solidify his resolve and wait.

"Draco!" he heard from up ahead, and indeed it was Valeria approaching him, smiling. Even in her school robes, she was a sight for his weary eyes. She was more like the Valeria he knew than she had been in so long and he grieved to know he might be throwing it all way.

"Where are you off to?" she asked, stopping just before him.

"Up to the Room, just for a bit," he said, shifting nervously.

"I thought you said you were done in there."

"I just want to check something," he said, placing his hands gently on her shoulders. He leaned over and kissed her. "Don't worry about me."

"Alright, I'm warning you though, I'm exhausted so I don't know if I can escort you back tonight."

"That's fine. I don't need you to," he said. He looked at her, taking her in once more. "I'll see you soon."

She nodded. "Alright. See you soon."

She walked off, her head high. Watching her leave, even her walk seemed graceful and he lingered there until he saw her disappear and heard the common room door shut behind her. Sure that everything else was in place, he was off.

The last thing she saw before her eyes opened was her brother's lifeless face, for yet another night. Despite her exhaustion, her mind was too plagued to stay asleep too long. She awoke to a pounding heart and in a cold sweat. She breathed deeply to calm down, looking around the room to reorient herself and remember that she was safe. She looked over to the window, lulled to calmness by the gently whooshing of the Black Lake just outside. By chance, her eye glanced to her bedside table and she saw a folded piece of paper, illuminated in the murky greenish light, that she did not remember putting there. There was no name, but she broke its seal and opened it. She lit the tip of her wand, careful not to wake any of the other girls.

Valeria,

I'm sorry.

She would know that scrawl anywhere. All the peace, the relief she had felt, vanished and in its place returned a rush of fear and pain. Her heart felt as though it was being strangled. She rose and yanked her night-robe from its hook, slipped her feet into her hard-soled slippers and marched to the door. Her pace picked up as she made her way through the common room and she was nearly running until she came to a sudden stop at the exit. Crabbe and Goyle had been leaning against the wall and stood straight when she approached, brandishing their wands in their hands. She reached for hers as well.