Destined for Darkness (A Draco Malfoy Fic)

Prepare for the Worst

"Nooo," I grumbled, my head falling to the side and my whole body sagging with disappointment.

"Don't act too happy to see me, Eleanor," Theo said sarcastically as he crested the top of the stairs behind Draco and me.

"I'm not happy to see you because if all three of us have been called up here, then that means—"

Before I could finish, the door to the Headmaster's office opened, and Snape's low voice called us inside.

After taking advantage of the fact that we didn't have any classes today and sleeping in, Draco and I were about to head down to the Great Hall to catch the end of breakfast when the summons from Snape flew in under our door, stating we were to go to his office immediately.

So, I'd started the second day of school just like the first: in a piss poor mood.

The door shut firmly behind us as we approached Snape's desk, and without a word, he slid a copy of The Daily Prophet across to us. My eyes went wide at the headline, and I quickly scanned the beginning of the article.

MINISTRY BREAK-IN

Undesirable No. 1 Harry Potter, blood traitor Ronald Weasley, and Muggle-born Hermione Granger broke into the Ministry of Magic Tuesday morning, brutally attacking numerous Ministry employees, including Senior Undersecretary to the Minister and Head of the Muggle-born Registration Committee, Dolores Umbridge. Aurors pursued but were unable to apprehend the criminals.

I stifled a sigh of relief at the last sentence, keeping my face blank and fortifying that door in my mind when I peered up at Snape and saw that he had been carefully watching me.

"Potter, Weasley, and Granger were followed to a location that is believed to be where they have been hiding out for the past month, but Yaxley failed to seize them before they Disapparated. You three are being sent to search the premises for anything they may have left behind or any information you can gather that might shed some light on where they could have gone or what their plans are." Snape handed a folded piece of parchment to Draco. "You will Apparate into Borgin and Burkes and then follow those directions to the address. The location of the Apparition point I've created within the school boundaries is also written there."

Draco unfolded the parchment and quickly scanned it before nodding and slipping it into his pocket.

"Report back to me immediately upon your return," Snape added, and I took that as a dismissal, turning on my heel and striding for the door without a word.

Draco and Theo followed, and we didn't linger in the corridors as we headed for the entrance hall. Once outside, Draco led us towards the forest, and we fell into a casual walk to not draw any unwanted attention to ourselves.

"You were rather...compliant back there," Theo remarked just as we reached the edge of the trees and well away from any prying ears. "I was counting on you to talk us out of having to go on this little errand."

I huffed, staring down at the ground as I stepped over a large tree root. "As much as I loathe our entire situation, we could have been ordered to do something much worse. So I won't complain about a reconnaissance mission. And," I added, stepping out of the path of a huge tree, "the less time I have to spend around or speaking to Snape, the better."

Theo chuckled, but then his expression turned serious, and he opened his mouth to say something, but before he could get a word out, Draco stopped abruptly, grabbing our attention.

"There," he said quietly, "right past that dead tree."

We rounded the column of grey wood, and Draco slipped his hand into mine. "Nott, you go first. Eleanor will side along with me since she's never been to the shop. We'll be right behind you."