In The End

Chapter 35 - Now We Wait

Author's note: *not edited*

Things had gotten worse since Eliza and the Golden Trio escaped. The Dark Lord was not happy when he found out. In fact, he went on a killing fest, leaving rotting piles of dead bodies in Malfoy Manor, while Draco and his parents watched as he took yet another victim.

Draco's father told him that he was especially on edge lately because he could feel that one of his horcruxes had been destroyed, no doubt by Harry Potter.

Draco couldn't help but feel a little lurch of joy in his stomach. It meant that Potter was winning; even if the victories were small.

The news of Harry Potter often made Draco wonder whether Eliza was safe. Kooby had told him about Dobby's death. He felt slightly depressed by the news.

Ever since Eliza had shown him how to treat house elves, he had always felt ashamed of the way he used to treat Dobby when he still belonged to the Malfoys.

Draco was deep in thought, sitting stiffly in a suede armchair by the fire place. He could feel the strain his shoulders had been taking lately; he was always so tense. He just wanted to know that she was safe.

Just then, Draco heard the front doors burst open.

"I should have killed that little MUDBLOOD the moment I saw her!" Bellatrix screeched, marching into the lounge area.

Narcissa rose quickly from the sofa she had been seated on.

"Bellatrix. What is the matter?" She asked, walking towards her sister.

"That little mudblood girl is the matter! We were infiltrating the Macnair house with no issues and I was so excited to get my revenge and THEN..." Bellatrix had to take a few deep breaths to calm down before she could continue talking, "...THEN I saw her! The little mudblood had beaten us to the punch and had her muggle father in her claws! She escaped before we could even cast the first Crucio or Avada curse!" Bellatrix screamed.

Draco's heart was racing. Eliza had saved Fabian. She had left her protection wards. They could have found her. What was she thinking? The Dark Lord was probably tracking her Dark Mark as they were speaking!

Draco stood up from his armchair and left swiftly to his room before he could hear Bellatrix go on any more about how much she wanted to torture and kill his girlfriend.

It wasn't more than 10 minutes later that he heard a soft knock on the door.

"Draco darling, it's your mother." Narcissa said gently.

"Come in." He said hoarsely.

He was on the verge of tears as the image of Voldemort attacking the hideout Eliza was at ran through his mind relentlessly.

"What's wrong, dear?" Narcissa asked gently.

"You heard what Bellatrix said. It was Eliza! She left her wards. The Dark Lord will surely find her now. Her Dark Mark is like a beacon leading them straight to her." Draco said hopelessly.

"Have faith Draco. Have you met Eliza? If I recall, she was quite an intelligent young lady. Don't you think she would have taken precautions to avoid being tracked?" Narcissa asked reasonably.

Draco stared into nothingness for a few seconds, merely entertaining the thought, before looking back up at his mother and nodding slowly.

"Yes, I suppose she wouldn't be so careless." He said, more to convince himself than his mother.

"Precisely, so look on the bright side... she saved her father. She must be feeling so much more relieved now. Now she won't have any reason to leave the wards again." Narcissa said comfortingly.

Draco simply nodded, deep in thought. It pained him so to think about her. All he wanted to do was be with her again... keep her safe. He hated the wringing feeling he got so often because he was worried about where she was, and whether or not she was alright.

Narcissa gave her son one last comforting squeeze, before silently walking away and closing the door softly behind her. Draco sat alone for a long time, contemplating what he could do about everything.

Eventually he moved from his armchair and waked swiftly to his desk. Pulling out a piece of parchment and his quill and ink, he started writing a carefully worded letter, and then placing it inside an envelope and titling it "To whom it may concern".

He took it in his hand and walked up to his door before opening it.

"Kooby!" He yelled, looking up and down the hallway.

It didn't take long for Kooby to answer his call, and scurry up the hallway to see to his request.

"Yes, sir?" He asked.

Draco handed him the letter.

"I need you to deliver this to the house elves at Hogwarts. Tell them to read it and do as is instructed. Don't let anyone know where you are going, alright?" He whispered softly.

"Of course, sir, Kooby will not fail you, sir." Kooby said eagerly.

"Thank you Kooby." He said gently, resting a hand on his scrawny shoulder.

Kooby soon apparated away, leaving nothing but a blue, misty memory of the space he had just occupied, before that too vanished, leaving no evidence of Kooby's presence.

Draco went back inside his room and took a seat. Now all he could do was wait... He just hoped that someone would get the letter.