Betrayal of the Black

forty-seven

THE NEXT TWO DAYS PASSED by in similar fashion. Her and Theo would wake up early, eat breakfast together, train, shower, and then she would talk with Regulus.

The conversations were never super lengthy, and she made an effort to keep away from any kind of personal topics, but they did talk. She got more information about the Horcruxes, though nothing substantial — which she understood. She didn't trust him, so he wasn't going to trust her.

So, on the third day of having talked to Regulus, she pulled out a book that night. Specifically, the book on Dark Magic she had taken from the Black house, and began reading it from the beginning.

Her eyes drooped as she tried to read another line. She had attempted to reread the same passage multiple times by now. Knowing that her brain would fry if she tried again, she looked towards Draco.

His quill scratched against the parchment in front of him, and she watched as he eloquently moved across the page. Ink stained the tips of his fingers, and she furrowed her brows.

"Who are you writing to?" she asked.

He didn't glance up at her. "My mum." She opened her mouth to reply. "And before you say anything, I'm not actually sending them. I wouldn't risk exposing our location. I want to give to them to her after everything . . . after all this ends."

"Oh," she breathed. "Tell her I say hello, then. And that I miss her so much."

He copied that down. "Anything else?"

"I'd like to know how she's doing, and that she's safe at the manor, but seeing as she can't respond, there's no point asking, I guess. Maybe add that I love her, too."

Draco scribbled down her words, and then silently reread his letter before setting it off to the side. He cleaned off his hands, and finally gave her his entire attention since he had sat down at the dining table.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" he said.

"I'm bored," she announced.

"And?"

"We're in the middle of war, and I'm bored," she stressed.

"Do you want to go kill people? Would that cure your boredom, dear sister?" he proposed.

"Yes, it would, but I have a feeling you're joking," she replied.

"You're batshit crazy. Get help," he said, entirely serious, but the way the ends of his lips twitched showed that he was hiding a laugh.

"You should be more ruthless. It's good for your wellbeing and all that," she said.

Before Draco could reply, Theo entered the room carrying a tray holding three bowls. He placed them before the each of them, and then he settled in opposite her.

"Soup? I hate soup," frowned Celestia, looking into the bowl.

"Soup? I love soup," said Draco, just to annoy her. He didn't like soup too much either.

"Both of you, shut up. We have limited resources here. We were not going to have spaghetti Bolognese again," he interjected before the two of them started to fight. "Now, eat."

"Bossy," mumbled Draco.

Spooning some of the soup into her mouth, she murmured, "Not bossy enough."

She looked at Theo through her lashes as she bent low to eat over the bowl. His lips were pulled into a smirk, similar to the one he'd given her after his lips had hovered above hers and called it platonic, like he knew exactly what she was thinking.