ʜᴇᴀᴠᴇɴ ᴏʀ ʜᴇʟʟ ⟶ ɢinny ᴡeasley

xii

"Are you having a good time?" Draco Malfoy growled through his teeth, his jaw set and his normally combed hair now unkempt.

Despite the usual cold in the Slytherin Common Room and the fact that it was early May, Draco couldn't help but feel hot sweat running down his neck and forehead, soaking through the collar of his shirt, indicating that there was a reason that justified the high speed of his heartbeat and the pressure that was hanging over his chest. He took a deep breath, trying to hide the tremor of his exhale and of his own voice, and ran his hands over his face in an attempt to calm himself and maintain his composure —fucking keep it together, Draco.

Jude gave him a blank look, one of many Draco was used to, but the girl didn't stop fiddling with her wand, slipping it between her fingers. The Slytherin abruptly ceased her activity, clutching the wand in her fist, and Draco had to force himself to contain the fear she was causing him. He could not understand how Jude, a girl who did not belong to those companies, could now be the only person of the two who kept a cool head.

That caused him anger, rage, but at the same time also confusion. The former were caused by internal debates, mainly burned to his mind by his father, who reminded him that he should be the man of the house, who should protect Jude and who should be capable enough to takeover Lucius Malfoy. But the truth was that he wasn't like that, that Draco was scared shitless, and that it was really Jude who was keeping calm, at least in appearance, something that Draco wasn't even achieving. That made him wonder the following.

What the hell was going through Jude Travers' head?

"We have to go," the girl simply replied.

Jude glanced at Draco out of the Common Room, but Draco was still impassive. Jude knew Draco Malfoy perfectly, they knew what his strengths were, but especially his weaknesses. But she didn't have time to take care of him. They had to fulfill their mission or everyone around them would end up dead.

The girl estimated that there would be approximately ten minutes left for chaos to break out. Voldemort had given the order that Harry Potter would soon be at Hogwarts, and both he and the Death Eaters would use this opportunity to capture the boy who lived, and, incidentally, set the castle on fire. Jude brushed the stone walls of the dungeons, almost remembering other better, happier times, but she put her hand back in her pocket, as if provoking this hell would not cause her any kind of remorse.

The Slytherin calculations did not fail: she soon heard screams of horror, students running in terror, wands in hand, eyes wide with surprise. Professors protecting them, fighting with inhuman forces, ordering the knights of the castle to save their lives. The glass in the windows shattered, the columns exploded, screams of horror pierced the Jude's eardrums, who remained as serene as the first moment.

She ducked around a corner, waving her hand for Draco to do the same. Their task was not to meddle in the fight from the start, but to damage the castle from within, and if the opportunity presented itself, hunt down Harry Potter alive. Jude listened carefully to the scene: the Hogwarts basement housed both the Slytherin and Hufflepuff Common Room, the kitchens, and the dungeons —it was unlikely that anyone was running around.

The only thing Jude could hear clearly was Draco's ragged breathing beside her, close to her ear, closer than she would have liked. She grabbed his wrist with a brusque gesture that was intended to be reassuring, but judging by Draco's eyes, Jude knew she hadn't succeeded; despite this, she did not release him until they resumed their march.

"You're fucking crazy. You want this, don't you?"

"Don't you?" Jude fought back, her voice calm but her words sharp.