mahogany ; d.m

62 - the manor

CW: upsetting scenes. may be hard to read at times.
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She could hear him again.

She heard Draco many times. The tone of his voice, his footsteps. The barrier between them made her want to scream.

Whenever he was there, she had something to be awake for. Just to listen and take whatever comfort she could find in it.

But today there were several of them. Not as many voices as the meetings she had only audibly witnessed from this cellar, but several.

The only sounds she cared about were any that came from him.

She was concentrating so vividly, she didn't even take into account the sound of the cellar door swinging open.

Pettigrew materialised in the doorway, but there was no food in his hands, nothing to be given to them. A few seconds later, another figure appeared.

Long white hair, about two heads taller than Pettigrew, with a cane in his hand. Her insides recoiled and spasmed at the sight of Lucius Malfoy.

"Grab the girl,"  the shrill voice of Lucius sounded through the entire cellar.

Pettigrew began heading towards Luna who was still asleep, before Lucius whacked his cane against the portly man.

"No, you oaf! Her in the corner," he spat.

Athena shrank away, trying to stick to the wall, melt into it, to vanish, merely anything to become invisible whilst Pettigrew trudged towards her, red in the face.

Dean and Luna wouldn't wake, completely unaware of the current situation.

She squeezed her eyes close, desperately trying to cast spells in her mind to disappear. To slip back into a deep sleep and allow her subconscious to take her through bittersweet memories and happier scenarios.

But of course, nothing prevailed.

Pettigrew grabbed her by the scuff of her neck, roughly dragging her to her feet. She couldn't even make much of a sound. Just winced and gasped.

Her body was too weak. If Pettigrew hadn't been holding her up, she would surely have collapsed to her knees. Probably then breaking every one of her bones.

She was leaving the cellar.

And Draco was up there. She'd been listening to him only moments ago.

In the few seconds that passed, she predicted exactly what was going to happen. All of these months, all this time that had passed of being oblivious and now in the space of a few seconds, the answer had finally come to her.

They would make him do it.

End her life.

It seemed only logical. Let her grow weak and frail to the point it looked like there was no point in returning to full health. Let everyone question her whereabouts, her safety and at the right moment, make him end her life.

And if he didn't, they would both end up dead regardless.

She understood what she had to do. She had to let him. Because ultimately she'd do anything for him to be safe. To be alive.

Pettigrew shoved her into Lucius, who grasped onto her harshly, dragging her beside him up the stairs of the cellar. Each step of hers was unsupported, vulnerable.

Maybe if she pushed back with all of her force she could fall backwards, crack her neck on the stairs. That way Draco wouldn't need to do anything. He'd be safe, and she'd be gone before they could do anything about it.