Cursed | Draco Malfoy, 18+

E i g h t y - n i n e

This chapter contains mentions of death, emotional trauma, sexual assault, and other disturbing themes. Please read with caution.

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''I miss you, darling.''

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''Let me go—'' Amelie tossed and turned in his grip, her whole body twisting, ''I need to go back. I need to help him—''

''You can't!'' Theodore held onto her, tightening the hold of her figure as she shoved, pushed, wrenched to get herself loose, ''You can't go back there! It's too bloody dangerous. They almost caught you—''

''He killed them, he killed two of them in their own castle, Teddy. They will kill him, they—'' She was hyperventilating now, feeling as if her insides lit on fire, ''He'll die if we don't save him—''

Tears rolled down her cheeks, uncontrollably and her chest strained. Amelie couldn't breathe.

''He won't, love. He won't die. They still need him, they still need him to find you—'' He was holding her solid, even if she didn't want to, Theo's arms around her shaking frame was the only thing stopping her from shattering to pieces, ''He'll be back, I promise.''

''You can't promise that!'' She cried out, ceasing from prying him away from her, ''He won't make it. They'll kill him, and I can't—''

''Look at me,'' Theo said softly as he gently let go of her, moving his palms up to cup her jaw, ''Look at me, Amelie. Listen—''

She tried. Indeed she tried to listen, but the ache bolting through her veins caused her to feel sick — nauseous almost.

''It's Malfoy,'' He whispered, stroking her chin with the pad of his thumbs, ''It's Malfoy, Amelie. He said he'd be back, and he will. He always finds his way back.''

That earned her attention, her trembling limbs calmed, and her body caved into him, ''He always finds his way back to me....'' She breathed, shockingly, her head in a clouded mess, ''But what if he doesn't? What if we just left him there to die—''

''He wouldn't let us stay,'' His knees bruised along the floor, ''He would never let you stay to watch that. You know he wouldn't.''

''I don't care—'' Amelie's head tipped to his chest, her knees dragged up in his lap as her dress spilled messily around them, ''I don't care if he wouldn't let me stay. We left him. We abandoned him to die!''

Theo closed his eyes, inhaling so sharply that it stung his lungs, and he prepared to tell her what Malfoy wished he'd do.

''He won't,'' It was a pained pause in his talking, ''He won't die because he wanted this to happen. It was his plan all along.''

Jolting in his lap, Amelie's eyes leveled his, and disbelief grew upon her, ''What are you—''

Huffing out loudly. Theodore shook his head, knowing just how much he would be breaking her heart for telling the truth.

''How do you know she heard us talking about the masquerade? And why do you want to leave when she's aware of it?'' Theodore frowned, his face held in an utter grimace, not clear as to why Draco in any lifetime wished that Amelie attended that ball, ''I won't agree to that, Malfoy. It's way too dangerous. She can't get out of there if she's caught. They'll—''

Draco's eyes bored through his, and a slight shift in the darkened pupils hewed Theo off. Realizing that he wasn't asking.

Lowering his voice, Draco whispered within the walls of the bathroom, ''She needs to understand that her mother isn't there. There's no way in hell the Dark Lord is keeping Athena in that castle. She fooled him for years, he wants her to himself, and he wants her to suffer—''