ethereal - draco malfoy

gala pt. 2

Draco, Daphne, Blaise, Astoria, Theo and I all sat on the steps outside of the Manor for the rest of the night. We all caught up and laughed, and they mocked me for my anger issues, and I joked about how if Cedric were here, he would be handing me my therapy journal.

"So, are you two Death Eaters?" Daphne blurted, causing Draco and I to both tense up slightly.

Before we could respond, they all lifted their sleeves and casually showed us their Dark Marks, and I almost choked on my fire whiskey.

"We are too." Astoria said with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Theo and I did it for fun, as a joke, if you will. Plus, Astoria and Daph were both forced into it, and we couldn't just let them do it alone, so we told our parents we would get branded." Blaise explained. I blinked in shock. Of course they would do that as a joke.

"It was my idea!" Theo said proudly, making my jaw drop slightly. I looked up at Draco, whose legs I was sitting between on the steps before him, and his expression matched mine.

I swallowed thickly and turned back to the lot sheepishly. "Erm- yeah. Yeah, we're Death Eaters." I mumbled quietly.

"Called it!" Blaise and Theo exclaimed in unison, causing Daphne and Astoria to groan and rub the bridges of their noses.

"Sorry." Daphne whispered to me. I laughed quietly and shook my head, waving my hand dismissively in the air.

"You two make me want to transfigure you into text books and chuck you into the Black Lake." Draco groaned, pointing his finger at Blaise and Theo.

I laughed and turned to kiss his jaw before turning back around and leaning back against him. We all started chatting quietly amongst ourselves. Blaise and Theo joked around while I spoke with Daphne and Astoria, Draco sitting behind me with his legs wrapped around my torso.

"No, we both had to work on the Vanishing Cabinet, but we had to alternate days, and eventually we found out that-" I started, but paused slightly when Draco told me he loved me in my ear quietly, "I love you, Draco, now let me talk," I said, aggravated, with a dismissive wave while still facing Daphne and Astoria, "anyways, we found out that we were both Death Eaters, and-" I was cut off by Daphne shrieking and waving her arms around.

I flinched back instinctively and Draco wrapped his arms around me tighter until Daphne stopped screaming. I slowly looked back up to see Daphne and Astoria both staring at me with wide smiles, Theo and Blaise staring at Draco the same way.

"What?" we asked in unison.

"She- you- she said- how did you-" Daphne stuttered helplessly, earning a confused look from me.

"Oh, bloody hell, mate!" Blaise exclaimed at Draco. "You got her to say the L-Word?!" Theo shouted.

I blinked, dumbfounded for a few moments. When we didn't answer, Theo turned to me. "You got him to say the L-Word?!" he repeated, just as loud.

"Fuck." Draco stated. The four all scrambled to run to us, and Draco and I quickly shot up and ran in opposite directions. I ran up the steps, he ran down, my heels still in his hand. Astoria and Daphne chased after me, Theo and Blaise after Draco.

"Oh my Merlin, you fell in love!" Daphne exclaimed pulling me into a tight embrace.

—

After the four had their mental breakdowns, Daphne, Astoria and I put our heels back on and went back into the Manor. The four walked to meet up with the Greengrass parents, and Draco and I stood by a wall.

We stood there for a few minutes before Bella walked up to us. "Cynthia!" she exclaimed, opening her arms. I immediately gave her a hug and smiled brightly.

After we pulled away, we walked back over to Draco and began talking. "I heard you beat the shite out of Pansy Parkinson. I'm proud." she said proudly. I grinned and cocked a brow.

As we were talking, someone came up behind her, and she grinned before turning around. I couldn't see who it was at first, but when I did, my smile immediately disappeared. I stood there, frozen, paralyzed in fear as memories of the past flooded my mind.

Rodolphus Lastrange. The memory I desperately wanted to forget.

"Rora?" Draco asked as he placed his hand on the small of my back, pulling me out of my thoughts. I turned slightly and glanced up at him, and he beckoned forward. I turned forward slowly and was met by a smirking Rodolphus Lastrange. I gulped.

"Cynthia Morningstar. Long time no see." he said, eyeing me up and down. His gaze lingered on my chest, but I pretended not to notice. He stuck his hand out, offering to shake my hand.

"I have a skin to skin contact problem." I snapped coldly, crossing my arms over my chest in a disgusted manner.

"What a pity." he said slowly, lowering his gaze down to my bare thighs. I tensed up slightly, and hoped Draco didn't notice because I knew he would question me. Bella excused herself and walked away to find Cissy and mum.

"I heard your father passed away. Looking for a new daddy?" he asked quietly, bringing his eyes back up to meet mine. I hissed in a sharp inhale and clenched my jaw, digging my nails into the skin of my arms.

"He did. He was murdered." I said flatly, ignoring his inappropriate, disgusting question.

He brought his hand up to caress my cheek, and I flinched backwards before he got the chance to touch me. He smirked evilly and stepped closer, and I felt Draco bring his hand to my hip and pull me closer to his side.

"It was nice seeing you again, Cynthia. It's a shame I didn't get to see... more of you." he said, trailing his eyes back down to my thighs. I felt bile rise in the back of my throat and I wriggled out of Draco's grip and ran as fast as I possibly could to their fireplace.

I picked up a handful of floo powder and mumbled 'Morningstar Manor' before throwing the powder down and being engulfed in flames.

I stepped through the fireplace swiftly and yanked my heels off, clutching them tightly in my hands as I bolted up to my bedroom. I slammed the door behind me and locked it before tossing my heels down and running the the bathroom.

I tucked the front two pieces of my hair behind my ears before opening the toilet and vomiting uncontrollably.