The Barrier in Between | Draco Malfoy

5. INITIATION CEREMONY

-

Zinnia Keyes. Hogwarts Express. Present.

It was the day of the ceremony and it was also time to go to Hogsmeade. I was sitting in a compartment with Harry, Ron, and Hermione telling them about the ceremony. I pretended to be in distress, telling them how I didn't know the ceremony was a welcome party for Draco.

"You told me Malfoy's not a Death Eater." Harry said. "I didn't know, they hid it from me." I said, pretending to be shocked. Should I tell Harry the truth? About how I'm trying to help Draco to get out.

I sighed and looked at them straight. "Look, guys. I don't want Draco to be a part of this foolishness. I know how to help Draco get out of there but I don't know what to do after. I can't leave with him. Harry, I need your help."

Help.

If only somebody gave it to me. I wouldn't be here.

Harry looked at me, hesitant. "How do I trust you? Zinnia, I understand why you're doing this but for the past year, you've only been giving me useless information. You think I'm dumb?" Ah shit, lovely. I sighed again. "If I gain your trust, will you help Draco?" I asked. He looked at his friends, all three of them had unsure expressions.

"Fine, leave that. You and I both want the same thing. I'll tell you everything you need to know but you have to promise me that you'll kill the Dark Lord, at least." I looked at him with seriousness in my eyes.

"I promise." Harry replied with seriousness on his face. What was I doing, oh god? I'm going to regret this.

I sighed for the gazillionth time. I got up and opened the door to the compartment. "Watch out for Siege." I left the compartment. Siege was my owl. The same owl that helped Draco figure out the vanishing cabinet. Only Harry and Snape knew my owl. I made sure nobody else knew, not because I'm a Death Eater but because it's fun.

Before I became a Death Eater, I had done a few pranks with the Weasley twins. If they had to send any prank letter or notes I let them use my owl so people are super confused.

-

Zinnia Keyes. Knockturn Alley. Present.

I was somewhere in Knockturn Alley, waiting for Narcissa and Draco. I had my Death Eater clothes on and I also wore boots that had a heel so it wouldn't be that obvious I'm a Hogwarts student, and Narcissa gifted me these boots for my birthday.

I was in some abandoned shop. The glass windows were shattered and the place was full of dust. Suddenly I hear a knock. I looked behind and saw Narcissa knocking on the broken door, behind her was Draco. Smart, she didn't say my name.

I walked out of the shop. Narcissa looked at Draco and then at me figuring out how to introduce me without exposing me. "Um... Draco, this is... someone who will help you." She said, emphasizing the word 'help'. Draco seemed to have caught on, he looked at me suspiciously. "What do I call you?" He asked me harshly. Luckily, you can't tell who's speaking through the mask because the voice becomes deeper and... It vibrates, I guess.

"Siege." I said. I couldn't think of anything so I named myself after my owl. My voice came out robot-like but it was obvious I was a girl. He scoffed at me and walked ahead with Narcissa. I followed them. I was starting to feel anxious. I heard something from behind and I looked.

The person instantly hid behind a wall. I pretended that I couldn't see them and walked ahead. I knew it was Harry, Hermione, and Ron because I could see Ron's ginger hair.

We reached Borgin and Burkes. Narcissa told Draco and I to wait for a minute. The moment she walked in, Draco turned to me and started walking closer. I stood there looking up at him even though I had heels on, I reached to his nose, and that's it. He looked at me up and down.

"Come on in, you two." Narcissa said.

-

It had been a few minutes. Draco was showing the others that he had 'fixed' the cabinet. They all cheered on him. Me and Fenrir Greyback stood on each side of a large window. "Greyback, draw the curtains." He glared at me and then did what I told him.

-

Harry Potter. Knockturn Alley. Present.

Hermione, Ron, and I were on top of some roof, we had a clear view of everything till some creepy wolf-human dude showed up and drew the curtains. All three of us groaned and just lay on top of the roof. "Do you think Zinnia will help us?" I asked them.

Hermione remembered the time Zinnia made Draco apologize to her for calling her a mudblood. He even started greeting her but then suddenly started avoiding her out of the blue. "Harry, don't you get it? She's doing this only because of Draco. She wants him to be safe, not herself."

Ron and I had a face of realization. Hermione might be right. She never came to us for help, ever. But when it came to Draco she was practically ready to do anything.

Hoot! I looked up and saw an owl. Siege! It was Zinnia's owl. She told me not to tell anyone about her owl, it was easy to spot from how unique it is, though. "Hello, Siege." I said as the owl stood beside me staring at my face while I was lying down. He was holding a note in his mouth.

I grabbed the note from Siege's mouth and opened it. I looked at the note in confusion. "What is it, mate?" Ron asked me. "It says to look for the Horcruxes or something." I say. Ron scoffs and says "She's probably just messing with us again." then Hermione begins. "We can't be so sure, we should look into it first." Hermione was unsure as well but she's right, we should look into it first.

-

Draco Malfoy. Hogsmeade. Present.

I was walking around the outskirts of Hogsmeade after the ceremony, it was the shittiest ceremony I had been to in my whole life. The clouds were all grey and the ambience was gloomy. I looked up to see the same girl from earlier sitting on a cliff, she was just looking up in the sky. What did mother mean when she said 'help'? Just death-eater things, right? Should I go up to her? A train of questions was running through my head. I just ignored it and continued with my "evening walk" in Hogsmeade.

-

To be continued...