ethereal - draco malfoy

another task

The past month had been unbelievably difficult. Draco and I spent most of our time in the Room of Requirement, sometimes just crashing on a couch together. The Vanishing Cabinet was a slow work in progress, and I could tell Draco's extremely stressed.

"Rora." Draco said flatly, his chest buzzing underneath me while he did so. We were in the Room of Requirement on a sofa, me laying on top of him as one of his hands rubbed my back and the other played with my hair. "Hm?" I hummed.

"I have another task." he said quietly. I sat up and straddled him, looking down at his worried face.

"What is it?" I questioned with confusion written all over my face.

"I-" he let out a sharp exhale, "I have to kill Dumbledore."

I looked away from his eyes, now looking at the back of the black couch we're sitting on. He had to kill Dumbledore? Why would The Dark Lord tell a seventeen year old to kill a 100 something year old? Is he fucking stupid?

I then realized that this was why Draco's been more stressed than me. I only had to let the Death Eaters into the castle; he had to kill someone. I could easily kill someone like Parkinson or Jordan, but I don't know if I could kill Dumbledore.

Draco probably feels extremely alone in this, despite having me by his side at every moment of every day. I frowned at the thought. Draco feeling alone sends a sharp pain to my heart.

"Do you have a plan?" I asked dulcetly, looking back at him now.

He gulped and stayed silent for a second before releasing a shaky breath. "Tomorrow there's a trip to Hogsmeade. I found a cursed necklace, and I plan on finding a random student and using the Imperius curse to have them deliver it to him. It's supposed to kill anyone who touches it." he elaborates.

I nodded slowly, taking and registering his words in my brain. "I'll come with you."

"No." he said strictly. "You stay here at the castle."

"Why would I do that? First of all, I wouldn't let you go through something like this alone. Second of all, we've spent every single second of every day together for the past month and a half; people will get suspicious." I snap back.

He sat in silence for a few seconds; thinking, calculating, pondering. He then sighed and ran a hand through his messy hair in defeat. "Fine. But I'll be the one doing all of the work, you just be on the look out." he gave in.

"Alright." I said, before bending over and kissing his forehead, then his cheek, then his lips.

I laid back on his chest and he immediately snaked his arms around my body, rubbing my back and playing with my hair.

—

After getting ready, we headed to Hogsmeade. Draco had the cursed necklace in a brown package in his pocket. We walked to Hogsmeade the same way we always walk - right next to each other with our pinkies gripped around each other's.

We decided that we would pick a random student at The Three Broomsticks beforehand. I glanced up at Draco and see how worried he is, and I instinctively stepped in front of him, bringing him to a halt.

I brought my leather gloves to either side of his face and made him look me in the eyes. "It'll be alright, Draco. I'll be there the entire time. You won't be alone in this, any of this. You don't have to go through any of it alone anymore." I reassured him sympathetically.

I stood on my tippy toes slightly as I brought his face down and gave him a gentle kiss. Our lips were both cold from the snow and frost surrounding us, but his lips were still completely benevolent against mine.

Every time my lips met his, or our skin touched in general, it sent ripples of tranquility throughout my entire body. His mere presence alone easily calmed me down, or brought me to equanimity. Draco is the one thing I crave all of the time, and can never get enough of.

I pulled away and wrapped my arms around his torso, in which he wrapped his arms around my the back of my neck, bringing me closer. Even his scent was remarkable.

We pulled out of our embrace and he kissed my forehead before we linked our pinkies again and continuing our walk.

—

When we reached Hogsmeade, Draco turns to me and cups my face gently, looking down at me. "You go in the front, I'll go through the back. Make sure no one comes near the bathrooms. Meet me by the shrieking shack at least five minutes after you see me leave." he instructed, I nodded in response.

He placed a kiss on my forehead, then my cheek, then my lips before turning around and walking towards the backs of the shops.

I sighed, instantly missing his touch, before trudging through the snow to The Three Broomsticks.

When I arrived, I looked around for an empty booth. "Oh look, It's Morningstar. Followed in your mum's and dead dad's footsteps and became a Death Eater yet?" I heard someone say from behind me.

I turned around to see Granger, Weasel and Saint Potter having butter beer, Weasel giving me a smirk.

"No, I haven't. However, I don't have to be a Death Eater to murder you right here in front of your little girlfriend." I seethed, beckoning towards Granger.

"I- she- we aren't-" he stammered helplessly, looking between me and Granger.

I chuckled lowly before stepping towards him and resting my hands on my knees. "You're pathetic." I whispered with a grimace before walking away and finding an empty seat, somewhat near the bathrooms.

Not too far away, so I can see everything, but not too close that it's suspicious.

I sat for a few minutes, glancing up every now and then, before I finally saw the familiar patch of platinum blonde hair. He looked left and right before going inside the girl's bathroom.

A few moments later, he walked back out, looking left and right again, before leaving. After he was long gone, Katie Bell came out holding the brown package.

I waited for about eight minutes before getting up and leaving The Three Broomsticks. I walked towards the shrieking shack and saw Draco standing there, looking around anxiously.

"Rora." he said breathlessly as he meets me halfway. "Are you alright?" I asked, my eyes flickering between his.

"Yeah, let's just get out of here." he said quickly before locking his pinky with mine and walking off.

—

On the way back to the castle, we heard a scream. We didn't find out until we got back to the castle that its source was Katie Bell, who touched the necklace.

And now, I'm sitting in the Room of Requirement, holding Draco as he sobs into the crook of my neck.

I had never seen this side of Draco before, but it hurt. I hate seeing him so upset, so broken. I knew what it felt like to be broken; maybe that's why we were a good match. Maybe our broken, shattered pieces, fit into each other's perfectly. We were both broken, but together, we're beautifully broken in all of the right ways.

I think deep down, that our brokenness is what made us who we are. It's what made him perfect for me, and me perfect for him.

And as I held onto him and one of his many walls crumbled defenselessly to the ground, I started to think that I was falling in love with Draco Malfoy, and everything that came with him. Even the sharp, dangerous, rigid edges of his ethereally, alluring, elegantly broken pieces.