In The End

Chapter 3 - I'm Going To Help You

Authors note: Please vote and comment! I'm really eager to hear what you guys think of my story!

***

Eliza sat with her earphones in as she let the sick tunes of Nirvana ease her nerves. She watched the rolling hills move along her window as the Hogwarts Express sped along, taking her back to her very own version of Hell. She had decided to get her sketchbook out to take her mind off all the things she dreaded.

Eliza turned her attention away from her sketching as she picked up on an odd smell. Looking up, she quickly realised that the whole train car was filling with thick black smoke. Ripping her earphones out, she listened intently to her surroundings, preparing herself for the worst. What if Deatheaters were attacking the train? What would she do?

"What was that? Blaise?" she heard a familiar voice ask in alarm.

The voice seemed to be coming from the booth next to her own, although she couldn't be too sure with all the smoke floating around.

"I don't know," Blaise replied, sounding just as confused as everyone else.

"Relax boys, it was probably just a first-year messing around. Come on Draco, sit down. We'll be at Hogwarts soon," Pansy Parkinson chimed in. 

If Eliza recalled correctly, she was Draco's latest fling, not that she seemed to be aware of that.

"Hogwarts. What a pathetic excuse for a school. Think I'd rather pitch myself off the astronomy tower if I thought I'd have to continue for another two years," Draco grumbled.

Eliza didn't stop herself from eavesdropping. Although the smoke had finally dispersed, she had no trouble going unnoticed, even with her booth being right behind theirs.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Pansy asked.

"Let's just say I don't see myself wasting my time in Charms class next year," Draco replied, rolling his eyes.

Eliza couldn't really blame him for thinking that way. The fate of a Deatheater only really held three possibilities. Either, they'd be killed the second they failed Voldemort, or they would survive, in the event that he managed to successfully kill Harry Potter and take over the Wizarding World, or they would go to Azkaban if Potter ended up winning instead. Eliza felt for Draco. Whether he realised it or not, they were both screwed no matter which outcome it was. She personally hoped for a quick and painless death. The prospect of a world run by Voldemort didn't appeal to her.

She heard Blaise chuckle.

"Amused, Blaise? We'll see who's laughing in the end."

Ah, that was where her sympathy ended. Draco seemed to be proud of his loyalty to Lord Voldemort, even if he didn't say it outright. She wondered how anyone could take pride in doing such terrible things and supporting such a monster.

---

After enduring the Sorting Ceremony and indulging in a delicious feast, Eliza was more than happy to finally go to the Slytherin common room and curl up with a good book in front of the green fire in the common room.

She sat there reading until all of the other Slytherins had retired to their dorms and it was just her, all alone. She had found comfort in being by herself over the years. Not that she was given much choice in the matter.

She supposed she liked it better since the presence of other people was what always made her so painfully aware of her own loneliness. Most of the time nobody spoke to her unless they were a teacher, or had a snide comment about her blood status or her terrible uncle. At least when she was on her own, it made sense for her to feel lonely.

As she sat there, curled up in a leather armchair with Albert resting on her lap, she was oblivious to the fact that someone had, in fact, entered the common room.

"What are you doing still up, Macnair?" Draco asked irritably.

Eliza looked up from her book to see him towering over her where she sat, a look of disgust on his face.

"If you must know, I don't sleep much, so I try to read until I feel tired," she responded, offering him a deadpanned expression.

"Honestly, I don't know why he chose to make you one of us. I mean, you're a filthy mudblood for Merlin's sake!" 

At this, Eliza put her book down, moved Albert and stood up.

"That's actually a good question, Malfoy. Why did he make me one of you? Hmm? Why didn't you just tell him what I really am and be done with me for good?" she growled at him, poking her finger into his chest.

Draco's silvery eyes were blazing as he picked up her hand and dropped it.

"I have my reasons, not that they're any of your business," he snapped back.

"Well whatever they are, just stay away from me. Unless you want your task to become more difficult, I suggest you back off," Eliza said harshly through gritted teeth.

"You're really one to talk. That could work both ways, you know? Just remember whose task it was before you were assigned it," he spat, before marching into his dorm and slamming the door shut.

Eliza grumbled to herself as she picked up her book and Albert and quietly went into her dorm. As she crawled into bed, she made sure not to make a sound, although it wouldn't have made any difference if she did. The other girls always snored incredibly loudly.

She spent most of the night staring at the ceiling, thinking about how she was to go about fixing that damned vanishing cabinet.

Draco too, lay awake that night. He found himself being too afraid to go to sleep, knowing that nightmares would haunt him if he did. His thoughts seemed to keep returning to Eliza and he soon realised just how much his task depended on the success of hers.

'I'd better give her some bloody help or else she'll mess it up for me before I even get the chance,' he thought to himself.

---

The next morning Draco sat in Potions with a bored expression as he waited for the new professor, Professor Slughorn, to arrive. 

The lesson had done nothing but worsen his mood. Harry Potter had arrived late for class and had been accepted to stay, even though he wasn't meant to take potions that year. To make matters worse, Harry had been the only one to successfully create a Draft of Living Death and won a vial of Liquid Luck. It was so typical of Harry Potter to take everything that Draco wanted.

He walked down the corridor alone when he noticed a certain brunette girl leaning against the wall. He immediately walked over to her.

"Macnair, when are you planning on working on the bloody cabinet?" he asked, glaring at her.

"Probably after class today. Why do you ask?" she retorted irritably.

"I'm going to help you," he stated.

"What? Why?" she asked angrily.

As if she needed any bloody help to fix some stupid cabinet!

"Because I don't want you messing up the bloody thing. I need it for my task to work and there's no way I'm going to let the likes of you mess that up," he spat before striding away.

At this, Eliza huffed and marched off to her next class.