Falling

Chapter Four

Every morning Draco woke up and made himself a cup of tea. He never drank tea until after the funerals. He found it made him sleepy, but these days that's all he wanted to feel. He hated feeling the loss of his friends and loved ones. He hated knowing he took part in something so dark as the second wizarding war. He sat at his dining room table, alone, thinking about the last day he spent at the school, with his friends, with Quinn. He missed her most of all. The day he left was the hardest day of his life but he couldn't take staying there, picturing the life he would have had with her.
He spent most of his time buried in his work. He now helped find and shelter people whose lives had been ruined after the war. He helped track them down and bring them back to a safe house that he had helped fund. After the war his father had been captured and killed and he was now the heir of the Malfoy name and fortune. So, with the help of his mother, he funded a build project for a shelter that was well hidden and secure where wizards who had no money and no home could go to seek safety. It helped him feel like he was making up for what he had done, and it took his mind off what he had lost.
Today was a big day for him. He was supposed to meet Blaise Zabini and a few other friends he had in school and bring them back. He had set up rooms for them in his own Manor. He decided he wasn't going to let them stay in the shelter when they were like family to him. He finished his tea and headed to his room to get ready for the day. He began to button up his black shirt after slipping into his black dress pants.
"Draco darling, can you pass me my towel?" A woman asked from his shower.
Draco looked over to see a towel on the bed and he sighed as he picked it up. He carried it into the bathroom and handed it to Pansy as she turned the water off. He stared at her for a moment as she slipped the towel around her body. Her long black hair stuck to her skin and water dripped from her nose. She smiled up at Draco, but he just turned and walked back to the bed, sitting on it and putting his shoes on.
"Draco? Are you ok?" Pansy queried.
Draco thought about that question for a moment. He thought about how he would have to explain to Blaise why he was with Pansy. Quinn was dead but her and Pansy used to hate each other, and Draco swore he never had feelings for Pansy, now Blaise would see they were together. How would he explain this to him? Blaise was Quinn's friend too. He grew protective over her just like Draco was. Draco could feel guilt building in his stomach. He stood up and shook his head.
'Blaise knows that Quinn is dead, and he has no right to judge me.' Draco lied to himself.
The truth was, Draco judged himself every day. He hated Pansy but feeling the heat of someone sleeping next to him every night was better than feeling the emptiness. He laid awake at night to listen to Pansy breath and pictured it was Quinn. It was the only way he was able to wake up in the mornings.
After he finished getting dressed and had brushed his hair to the side, he headed downstairs where his mother was preparing breakfast in the kitchen.
"Mornin' mum." Draco spoke, kissing Narcissa on her cheek.
"Good morning, Draco." She smiled at him, handing him a plate with toast, fruit, eggs, and bacon on it.
"Trying to make me fat?" Draco laughed.
"Today is a big day. We finally get Blaise back and I need you to have all your strength in case something goes wrong." Narcissa explained sternly.
"Mother, I'm just meeting him at kings' cross station, and we will apparat back here. We will be fine." Draco reassured her.
He began to eat when he heard Pansy's heels on the marble flooring as she entered the kitchen.
"Good morning Narcissa, Good morning, Draco." Pansy cheered, sitting next to Draco.
Narcissa smiled at her and began putting eggs on a plate for her when Draco stood up and slammed his hand down on the counter.
"She can get her own food, mother." Draco scoffed, looking down at Pansy.
Pansy rolled her eyes and slowly stood up, walking over to Narcissa, taking the plate from her.
"Draco, honey, its fine. I can make her a plate." Narcissa cooed.
"No. She's a grown woman, she can do it herself." Draco seethed.
He sat back down and huffed, finishing his food. Narcissa shook her head and left the room, leaving Draco and Pansy alone. Pansy walked over to Draco and set her plate on the counter, keeping her eyes on him.
"Draco, my love, what's wrong with you today?" Pansy spoke gently, placing her hand on his cheek.
Draco looked up at her with his jaw clenched. He closed his eyes and placed his hand on hers.
"I'm sorry, Pansy. Today is just a big day and I-"Draco began to explain but Pansy cut him off with a kiss.
"Hey, it'll be okay. You will find Blaise and bring him back to us and everything will be right in the world. We will have our family back-"Pansy began to smile but Draco ripped her hand away from his face and stood up.
"What the fuck does that mean Pansy? We won't have saved everyone!" Draco shouted.
Pansy took a step back and her stomach dropped.
"Draco, I'm sorry- I forgot-"She stuttered.
"Get the fuck out." Draco whispered, closing his eyes.
Pansy quickly turned and scurried out of the kitchen. Draco opened his eyes and dropped back down in his seat. He placed his head in his hands and sighed, wishing today would just be over already. After a moment he cleared his throat and stood up, walking out of the kitchen and into the foyer. Once there, he grabbed his coat and slipped it on, buttoning it closed and wrapping a dark green scarf around his neck. He stuck his hands in his pockets feeling for his wand. He pulled it out and something dropped to the floor. He quickly bent down and picked it up, shoving it back in his pocket. He looked around the room before yelling out that he was leaving, then he stalked out the front door.
Once he was outside, he pulled the object back out of his pocket, it was a ring. He studied it for a moment, admiring the hues of green that only showed in the sunlight, reading the engraved words that wrapped around the inside of the ring.
'You jump, I jump.' It read.
He pressed it to his lips and closed his eyes, feeling its slick, cold surface. He finally slipped it on his finger, raised his wand to the sky and closed his eyes once more. Suddenly the world began to spin and whip around him as he felt the wind slamming against his body. After a moment, he felt his feet hit the ground and his vision came back to him. He was standing in the middle of Kings Cross Station. He looked around and there were only a few people hurrying along the platform to get on the train before it left. These days the train wasn't as busy as it was when he was in school. He could remember how hard it was to walk in a straight line because there were so many people around, now you were lucky to be within shouting distance of another person. At least Blaise would be easy to find.
"Zabini?" Draco called out.
There was no response. He looked around again then decided to walk down to one end to see if he might bump into him. As he strolled along the platform, a wave of memories flooded his thoughts. He could see Quinn sitting next to him in their train compartment or kissing him goodbye as he left to go back to the Manor. As he reminisced, he stopped paying attention to what was around him and when he finally shook himself back to reality, he realized he had reached the end of the platform and still hadn't run into Blaise.
'Where the fuck is this git?' Draco thought as he looked around.
It was eerily quiet and the only movement he could see was a few pieces of rubbish blowing around the platform. Something didn't feel right.
"Blaise?" Draco shouted.
"Malfoy!" He heard someone whisper from behind him.
As he turned, he could see Blaise, but he wasn't alone. There was a man peering out from behind him with his wand shoved up against Blaise's throat. Draco quickly pulled his wand out and aimed it right at the man and furrowed his brow.
"Let him go mate, if you know what's good for you." Draco threatened.
"That's a laugh." The man spoke.
Suddenly Blaise's eyes grew large as he looked past Draco. Draco turned just in time to see a fist coming right for his face. He dodged just in time for it to make contact with his shoulder, knocking him to his ass. He felt the air leave his lungs as he hit the floor, but he jumped back up to his feet and ripped his wand back out.
"STUPIFY!" Draco shouted, shooting a spell right at the man.
The man jumped out of the way and shot the same spell right back at Draco, hitting him in the chest. Draco fell to the ground and suddenly the world went black.
When he opened his eyes, he could feel his head throbbing. He looked around but couldn't tell where he was. It was dark and cold, and it smelled of mold. Once his eyes adjusted to the light, he could see he was in the back of a large van. There were people, including himself, strapped up along the walls of the van. There was a man that he recognized as the one who stunned him, sitting at the front, watching everyone. He smirked over at Draco once their eyes met, and Draco spat at him.
"Malfoy." Blaise called out.
Draco looked over and Blaise was sitting, strapped up across from him.
"Blaise, mate, what the fuck is going on?" Draco asked.
"I don't know. I was waiting for you at the platform when this git came up from behind me and wrapped his arm around my neck. He told me if I moved or spoke that he would curse me, then you showed up." Blaise explained, worry draped across his face.
"SHUT UP!" The man at the front yelled.
Draco glared over at him and raised his lip in disgust.
"Who the hell are you?" Draco hissed.
"Doesn't matter, all that matters is that I told you to shut up." The man seethed.
He stood up and walked back to Draco, glaring down at him. Draco spat at him again and the man forcefully grabbed him by his chin and squeezed, causing Draco to not be able to talk.
"Don't make me say it again, mate." The man whispered.
He threw Draco's head to the side and walked back to his seat. He banged on the part of the van that separated the back from the driver's seat.
"ETA?" He shouted to the driver.
"Were pulling in now." A voice shouted back.
The man stood up and smiled, making his way to the doors in the back of the van.
"Oh good. Black will have plenty of fun with you lot." He smiled, looking at Draco.
A group of men appeared once they opened the van doors and one by one, they began to pull people out of the van. Draco stood in line behind Blaise and after everyone had been unloaded, they began marching them inside. Draco looked up to see a manor that was as big as his. They took them around back and led them in through a metal door. Once they were all inside, the lights turned on and they were in a small room that had nothing in it. The floors were concrete, and the walls were white tile. There were only two doors, the one they just came in and one on the other side of the room that most likely led into the house. They began tying people to hooks that stuck out of the ground so they couldn't stand or move. They got to Draco and he lunged forward at one of the men, headbutting him in the nose. The man's nose began to bleed and he shouted a curse at Draco, grabbing his face in pain. He slumped away as another man came up and punched Draco between the eyes. Draco's head flew back, and he could feel the tears welling behind his eyes. He furrowed his brow to keep them from coming out.
The man kicked him in the back of the knees, causing them to bend and Draco to fall to the floor. He then tied Draco's hands to the hook and glared down at him.
"Where the fuck are we?" Draco shouted.
"You will find out soon enough. Keep your mouth shut and do as your told. You may survive this." The man smiled down at Draco before walking away.
Draco gulped and watched as they tied everyone else to the floor and headed for the door. The last man to reach the door turned to everyone and pulled his wand out.
"Stupefy!" He shouted, hitting people one by one, knocking them out.
Eventually Draco woke back up, unaware of how much time had gone by. The room was much emptier now. People were missing, including Blaise. He scrambled to sit up straight and look around but suddenly the door flung open. Two men walked in and looked around the room. Draco was the only one awake, so they walked towards him and untied his hands from the floor.
"Where are you taking me? Where are we?" Draco began to shout as he tried to wiggle out of their grasp.
They began to drag him out of the room and down a long hallway. At the end of the hallway was a set of stairs that they started to climb up. Once at the top Draco could see plenty of doors lining the hall on each side. People were bustling about, leaving rooms, or entering rooms. Draco figured they must be bedrooms. He didn't recognize any of the people that were passing by them like they weren't even there. He began to kick his feet and pull back on his arms, trying to break free. He looked up just in time to see a woman with long blonde curls and bright green eyes staring right at him.
"Quinn?" He spoke.
His body went limp. The woman's face went white and she turned and hurried into her room, slamming the door behind her. Draco's heart was beating so fast he thought it would stop from exhaustion.
'Did I really just see- No. She is dead. There is no way- '
Suddenly they entered a room and the men dropped Draco on the floor, interrupting his thoughts. He looked up to see a man with curly black hair and dark brown eyes standing in front of him. He was wearing black dress pants and a white button up shirt with his sleeves rolled up. His knuckles were red, and he had a spot of blood on his shirt.
'Fuck.' Draco thought.
"And who do we have here?" The man asked, leaning against a table in the center of the room that had a glass of whiskey, a wand and a towel covered in blood on it.
Draco raised an eyebrow at the man and squirmed his way up to his knees, then stood to his feet. Draco stood with his chest puffed and his chin held high, not making eye contact with the man in front of him. The man stepped forward and punched Draco in the gut, causing him to hunch over and let out a loud grunt.
"I said, who do we have here?" The man asked again, more annoyed this time.
"Draco." Draco gasped, trying to catch his breath.
"Have a last name Draco?"
"Malfoy." Draco spat.
"Oh, another Malfoy. Well, my friends call me Black. So, I guess you can call me, well, nothing. Or sir. Whichever suits you." Black laughed.
'Another Malfoy? What did he mean?' Draco thought to himself.
"Well, I can see you're one for not many words. Just like the last Malfoy I had in here. It's what got him killed. So, I suggest you work with me and answer my questions. First one. Who was Lucious to you?" Black asked sternly.
Draco's eyes grew large, and he now knew who this man was. This was who most of his friends and people who he knew were on the run from.
"You're the man who is killing Death Eaters!" Draco exclaimed.
"Ah ah ah, I am the one asking the questions around here." Black scoffed, wagging his finger at Draco. "BUT, if you must know, yes, I kill them, but not just for fun and not all of them. I only kill the ones who had a hand in the dark lords death. The ones who didn't fight hard enough in his army or stand up for his cause. The ones who have the dark mark in vain." Black explained. "I ask again, who is Lucious to you?"
"He was my father." Draco answered through gritted teeth, squaring his shoulders back up to try and look unimpressed.
Black perked up and glared right at Draco.
"Wait, so you were his son. The boy who killed Dumbledore?" Black asked, excitement growing in his voice.
Draco just stared at him with his tongue in his cheek.
"It is you. Well, I see no reason to kill you, since you helped so much with the dark lords' plans, killing one of the greatest wizards anyone has ever known, but can I trust you?" Black queried, looking Draco up and down.
"It'd be pretty stupid to trust a man you just met." Draco grumbled.
"True, but we are on the same side." Black smiled.
Black began to pace the room with his fingers rested on his chin, lost in thought.
"Here is what I will do. I will keep you in a cell until I can think about what to do. I will have some people investigate you and your name and see If you are trustworthy enough." Black explained.
He nodded at the two men that had originally brought Draco in and they stepped forward, grabbing Draco by the arms, and turning him around. They led him out of the room and back down the hall but this time they headed down a different set of stairs that led to a foyer. Once there they took him through a kitchen and to a back door that led into what looked like a green room. He could smell the soil and the plants around him as they made their way through the maze of flowers and bushes. They walked past a sofa in the middle of the room and on it was a brown leather book. He had seen it before but couldn't remember where. They finally entered through another door that seemed to lead into a cellar. There were a few cells inside that were separated by bars.
The two men tossed him inside one of them and slammed the barred door behind him. He rolled over and groaned then slowly got to his feet. He glanced around, studying the room he was in. No one was down here, and he didn't even know how long he would be in here. He backed up until he felt his back press up against a wall then he slid down until he was sitting with his knees to his chest. He rested his elbows on his knees and put his head in his hands.
'Where am I? Did I really see Quinn? There is no way. She's- she's dead.' He thought to himself.