Until the End ~ A Dransy Fic

XVIII - The Last Confession

"Oh... Oh Draco..." she whispered softly. She touched a finger to his arm, as if to feel for herself if the tattoo was actually real, and he winced.

He sat back in his seat and rubbed his face. "I'm so sorry-"

"The task. That's what it is. You're a Death Eater."

He looked away and nodded darkly.

She bit her lip. "W-When did this happen?" she asked slowly, joining him at the table.

"Last night," he sighed.

She narrowed her eyes. "How could that've happened? I was with you all night!" she said. "We went to bed right after dinner."

"Er, about that..." he said as he nervously ran his hands through his hair where her fingers had been seconds ago. "It's all lies," he confessed. 

"What?!"

"Father took me to the basement where the Death Eaters tied me to a chair and... did this. You and Mum don't remember because he messed with your memories."

She opened her mouth to speak but no sound came out.

Draco took a nervous breath and stared at the floor. "He also gave you the bruise..."

"How??" she gasped angrily.

"He... it's a long story. I tried to intervene, but I-"

"Didn't." she finished for him. "You didn't."

He was silent and made of stone.

"When were you planning on telling me any of this?" she asked, irritatedly crossing her arms. "Or were you just going to lie and keep me in the dark forever? Is that how little you think of me?" 

"I never wanted to hurt you, please don't be mad!" he pleaded.

"Don't be mad? I have every right to be mad!" she snapped. "You promised that I had nothing to worry about, you promised, but today I woke up with this and don't even know what happened!" she said as she lifted up the back of her shirt to reveal a painful-looking black and purple lesion running its way along her spine.

Draco shivered and stared at it. "I am so sorry, I tried to fight him off, I really did!" he said softly. 

She looked him in the eye and sighed. "You're in too deep this time, you know that right?"

He felt a lump growing in his throat. "I know, I know," he choked. "I just... I love you. I didn't want you to leave me because of the things I've done."

She took his hand. "I love you too, and you know I'd do anything to stay with you. You don't have to do any of this! We could run away, away from all the nonsense and just be together. No rules or people to tell us what to do... You and I could just be. We'll find someone who can get that horrid tattoo off of you, and we'll start over with a clean slate. How does that sound?"

"Pansy, I would-" he started, before he thought of his life. His father. His task. His past. "No. We can't. You know you deserve more than me." he whispered, barely audible.

"What?" she said, cocking an eyebrow.

"I said that you deserve more than me. You're the most amazing person I've ever met and you deserve to be happy."

"But-"

"I am broken. Destroyed. Damaged goods." he said numbly. "No matter how much you try, there's no way you can fix me. You're wasting your time on a hopeless cause." 

"What does that have to do with-"

"No, you don't understand!" he said louder. He could feel the frustration boiling up inside of him. "I have to kill someone! That's the task! I have to fucking kill Dumbledore, do you hear me?" he exclaimed. "By the end of the year, I'll be a murderer! I will have killed someone!"