Legilimens

| Four |

Sixth year, 1996-1997

The ride to Hogwarts was a mostly silent one. A new year was beginning for everyone, but for Draco, it felt like an entire new life. And Josephine could sense it. Something had changed in him throughout the summer, and even if she was trying her best to bring out the light she knew was buried in him, she feared the darkness of the recent events were taking over. And she was terrified, terrified of losing him and everything they were, but also of losing the fight altogether. Darkness was coming, and Draco was carrying it with him, even if he wasn't ready to admit it to himself or his girlfriend. But spending so much time with top Death Eaters had taken its toll on him, and Josie couldn't bear to see him that way any longer, she needed to save him, save them all...

...She watched as Draco quit the train, his knuckles split open and a glint of satisfaction in his eyes.

"Saint Potter got what he deserved." He told her, walking away without bothering to wait around for her to follow him.

Josie cast a quick glance at the Slytherin wagon and followed Draco to the path that lead to the castle...

...Walking around the castle, Josephine could feel the stares of the other students glued on her. Most of the people she used to call her friends were now strangers to her, either afraid of the new Slytherin student, or loathing her because of her affiliation to the Malfoy family. They didn't understand them, and never bothered to try...

...Josie followed behind Draco, her hand firmly clasped in his, not knowing where they were headed. He was acting strange these days, not focusing much on his classes nor Quidditch, and always spending his spare time alone and Merlin knew where. They came to a stop in front of an old tapestry on the seventh floor and Josie watched as Draco walked thrice in front of the wall, wondering what had gotten his wand in a knot. Draco finally stopped walking and soon, a door materialized on the wall. Turning around, Draco looked at her.

"I need to show you something..."

...Josephine looked into the eyes of Draco, eyes that reflected pain and guilt. And fear.

"I have to do it Josie, I have to."

"Draco-"

"For Merlin's sake, Josie! Don't you get it? This is the only way to get my father out of Azkaban."

"But this is not who you are, Draco. You're better than that." She pleaded with him.

"I'm so sorry, Josie..."

"Let me help you, I can show you..."

...He couldn't do it. He didn't want to do it. His whole life, he had thought this was what he wanted; being under the Dark's Lord commands, pleasing his father and his twisted obsession with Voldemort, becoming a Death Eater. But now that he was so close to it all, he felt like it was all wrong. He stared in the eyes of Professor Dumbledore, and couldn't bring himself to do it. His disturbed aunt's laughter ringing in his ears was driving him crazy, and all he wanted to do was cast a few hexes her way and get out of there, forever. But he couldn't do that either. They would find him, they would find his mother, Josie, his friends, everyone. And he couldn't risk their lives, he had done enough damage already...

...Draco was climbing down the stairs of the Astronomy Tower, not showing any emotions, but the moment he came face to face with Josephine, the mask dropped. Pulling her in his arms, he started sobbing. Never had she seen him in such a vulnerable state.

"I couldn't do it Jo. I can't keep doing this, it's destroying me."

She could not speak, of fear of bursting into tears herself. She simply crushed him against her and held on until the sobs stopped...

...Dumbledore was dead, and all around her, people were fearing the return of the Dark Lord. Josephine looked across the Great Hall and found the head of Harry Potter, silently hoping her vision was wrong all along...

...Lucius Malfoy was out of Azkaban, Professor Dumbledore had been killed by Snape, The Dark Lord was back. Josephine saw the events of her previous visions unfold and couldn't do anything to stop it. It needed to happen, so that Harry Potter could fight in the war and win...

***

Josephine gasped as she woke up from her dream. Her memories kept coming back, different ones night after night, but always resolving around the same thing: Draco. Brushing the sweat off her forehead, she slowly got out of the bed and made her way to the bathroom to splash some cool water on her face. Looking at the dishevelled girl in the mirror, Josie didn't recognize herself. The girl staring back at her was nothing like the girl she was only a few months ago. Grabbing the edge of the porcelain sink, Josephine lowered her head and focused on taking deep breath to calm down the fast beats of her heart. Once calm, she climbed down the stairs and joined Andromeda, who was already up and brewing healing potions in the kitchen. Potions had never been her best class, as opposite to Herbology and Charms, but she would do her best to help her hostess save the only man that could help them all. Following Andromeda's instructions, Josephine helped making the potions, at times handing out ingredients she would have preferred never touching. By the end of the day, enough potions for the next few weeks were aligned in different phials, and Harry was still uncounscious, not once during the day showing any sign of life.

Teddy was giving both women hope in this time of darkness, and Josephine found herself in his nursery several times during the day, either rocking him and singing him lullabies in French, or only watching him sleep peacefully. She envied his innocence and his unawareness. All he had known in his life was love. He was too young to realize what was going on in the outside world, and Josie whispered protective charms under her breath without even noticing it to make sure he would always be safe at home, and for as long as possible.

Not having heard anything from Draco in a few days, Josie was starting to worry. Twisting the ring on her finger, she laid in bed, awake, for most of the night. She was fearing the worst for the person she loved most, and couldn't reach him to make sure everything was fine. Pushing back the covers, she grabbed her wand on the bedside table and got up from the bed.

"Lumos."

The tip of the wand illuminated the bedroom, and Josie soundlessly made her way to the potions cabinet downstairs and examined all the bottles and phials to find the one that would help her sleep better. She found the Sleeping Draught behind a few bottles of Blood-Replenishing potions and grabbed the phial before walking to her room and taking a sip of it. The beverage would give her a few hours of much needed sleep. As soon as she had put the potion next to her wand on the small nightstand, Josie's eyelids felt heavy and sleep soon came.

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I wanted to know, do you like the flashbacks on Josie and Draco? Would you like to see more of their relationship during Hogwarts' days?
Just comment, vote and tell me what you liked guys! :)

Gabrielle xx