THE VISION THIEF - D. MALFOY

56. what the darkness does

His back swiftly arches as his form grows stiff and rigid as the light of my curse illuminates a small fraction of the Warehouse. He completely collapses to the ground, a thud sounding as he hits the concrete, followed by an echoing clatter as his wand slips from his grasp. I stand in the midst of a pitch-black nothing, remaining perfectly still from underneath the cloak, my chest heaving up and down rapidly.

Relief crashes down on me like a tidal wave. Cole Remington, Rookwood, Elena, and Sebastian Remington were all unconscious on the cold, hard, ground. I raise my wand towards the ceiling, and with a short flick, the lights return, making my surroundings perfectly visible. I squint my eyes as the harsh light flood in, but my breath catches in my throat when I lock eyes with Malfoy.

Standing just a few feet away, he's looking at me like I put the sun in the sky. His eyes are wide, full of wonder. "You are just so unpredictable," He says in a low voice, a small grin on his face as he shakes his head.

"Are you okay?" I blurt out.

"Nothing I haven't dealt with before," He shrugs.

"Did you just compliment me?" I blink hard, suddenly processing his previous statement.

"I'd rather not put a label on it, Ashwood," He smirks as he looks away, running a hand through his messy hair. "But that was quite impressive," He mumbles. I let out a short laugh. "That's got to be the nicest thing you've ever said," I say. "Yeah? Well don't get used to it," He says as he playfully narrows his eyes at me.

I roll my eyes, but my lips turn upwards, and I can't even help it as I turn away. I look to my friends, the three of them still knocked out. "Rennervate," I say in a low voice, pointing my wand towards Harry, and moving on towards the other two. His eyes slowly flutter open, followed by Lily, and Ron.

"Bloody hell," Ron mutters as he clutches his head.

The three of them look quite confused as they alarmingly gaze around. "What happened?" Harry breathes out. He looks at the unconscious bodies. "You finished them off?" He asks. I nod. "Alone?" He adds. I shrug. "And Malfoy just watched?" He also asks. 

I can hear Malfoy inhale a sharp breath of air, before stepping past me, to gaze down at Harry. His shoulder brushes past me and his scent and warmth distract me. "Malfoy, didn't have a wand to fight with," He snaps viciously, taking on an incredibly snarky tone. Harry simply rolls his eyes. I look down to the sleek wand that I lightly hold in my right hand before raising my attention to the gaping hole in the stone wall of the warehouse. The hole I created. 

I'm nearly positive Rookwood would've taken my wand. Blocking out the bickering behind me, I step forward, reaching over the unconscious and bloodied body of Sebastian Remington. He looks like he has been put through a paper shredder. The tiny cuts look even more gruesome up close. It's startling. 

Stopping just 10 feet away from the large hole in the wall, I raise Malfoy's wand to the air. "Accio wand," I mutter quietly. In less than a second, the wand comes flying right at me. I flinch due to the sudden action, but open my eyes, a smug smirk on my face as I look back down at my wand finally back where it belongs. I whirl back around, the others all stare at me. "Let's find my dad," I announce. 

* * * * *

He had been in the warehouse all along. Tied up and gagged on the metal walkway on the upper half of the warehouse. He was unconscious when we found him. His handsome face full of cuts and bruises, and blood, so much blood. A chill crawls up my spine as I sit in Serena's office. 

My dad lies on the couch, sleeping. After we got him back and cleaned up, he passed out instantly. Couldn't even make it back to his room. I shudder thinking of how they treated him, putting him in a state such as this. I can't help but feel a large pang of guilt. How convenient it is that the second I show up, I put my Dad in danger. The danger he made a point of escaping for multiple years. The danger he successfully was able to hide from, until the second I showed up.