Home [Draco Malfoy x Reader]

chapter twenty-five

"What are those things?" she asked. "Draco, what are those things?"

"We've got to go," Draco said. He dragged ___ back into the darkness of the trees. She stumbled alongside him, keeping her hand tight around his. "Keep quiet!" he whispered loudly in warning.

They stopped when they came upon a large tree. He pulled her behind the trunk, taking place beside her. It was silent. She worked on catching her breath, struggling to keep her composure as the bile rose in her throat. She gulped.

Draco shut his eyes and leaned his head back against the trunk. He was breathing heavily, his hands shaking slightly. He looked down at ___, who was shivering from her spot. Her lips were as pale as the rest of her skin.

"You're all right," he reminded her, giving her hand a light squeeze. "Take deep breaths. We've lost them."

She nodded. Her hand pulled out of his and she leaned down to brace her hands against her knees. Draco checked their surroundings as she worked on her solid breaths. "What were those things?" she asked.

"Followers of the Dark Lord," he muttered.

"And that mark in the sky?" she asked.

"A Dark Mark," he said. "Honestly, where have you been?"

"I... I've seen it before," she whispered. "But I can't imagine where."

"It's the Dark Lord's sign," he told her.

"What?" she gasped. She shook her head and fixated her eyes on the ground. She thought of all the families torn apart by the attack. Tears filled her eyes as she realized that she could have very well been killed. "Draco, how did you find me? Everyone was running the opposite direction in which you came."

"I don't know," he mumbled. "I just had to find you."

"Had to?" she asked. "You should have stayed with your father-"

"I didn't know where he was, either," he said. "And I was alone. And I was going to just run, but as I did, I thought of you and how I had no idea if you were all right. I started to run the other way before anyone could stop me... because I just knew that I had to find you before you got killed."

She shook her head and shut her eyes. "Well, that's very sweet, but-"

"But what, ___?" he hissed in annoyance. He stomped over to her and gritted his teeth. "Nothing is ever good enough for you, eh? I saved your life! I did it because I don't want you in danger, ever!"

She glared at him. "Why do you think I wish you hadn't found me?" she asked. "I don't want you to be in danger, either! And for the record, I am very grateful for you saving my life. I just think yours is a worth a bit more."

"Don't be ridiculous," he said, looking away. He put his face in his hands and groaned. When he looked back at her, she was frowning. "I am sorry."

"Me, too," she said. She wrapped her arms around Draco and pressed her cheek to his chest. "I'm glad you're okay and that you found me. I just... how did this happen?"

"I don't know." He wrapped his arms around her. His lips touched the top of her hair and he took a deep breath, the scent of her shampoo filling his nose for a brief moment. He rubbed her back before pulling away and keeping just her hands.

"I need to find them," she said.

"Not so fast!" someone exclaimed. ___ and Draco whirled around to the source of the yelling. "Stupefy!" They gasped and ducked down. Draco wrapped his arm around ___ and pulled her away, mumbling curse words under his breath as they dodged spells thrown their way. "Stupefy!"

"Run!" Draco yelled. He pushed her ahead as they scrambled up the side of a hill. She held out her arm for him to take as she noticed how badly he struggled to run through the slick grass. "Just go!"

"Draco!" she said, latching onto his wrist. "Come on-!" She squealed as a spell hit a boulder beside her. 

"You bloody idiots!" Draco snarled in the direction of the attacker. He grabbed his wand and turned around. "You nearly killed her! Wait until my father hears about this!"

"Draco, let's go-" ___ pleaded 

"Stup-"

"Wait, wait!" two voices yelled. "Wait a minute! That's ___!"

"Fred," she breathed, pulling Draco to a stop. He looked at her as if she was mentally insane. "That's Fred!" She turned around and dragged Draco alongside her. They ran back in the direction of the attack, where Fred, George, Bill, and Percy all stood with a couple of workers from the Minister of Magic. "Guys!"

"There you are!" Bill said. "Where have you been? Everyone has been looking everywhere for you!" 

"I got separated from Fred and George," she explained. "And then I ran into Draco and he helped me get away from the fight." The Weasleys' blue eyes all landed on Draco. He swallowed nervously and ___ dropped his hand. "Is everyone all right? What happened?"

"Death Eaters," Bill said. "But everyone is fine, that we know of. But we must get to the portkey before Mum throws a fit."

She nodded. She looked at Draco, tempted to invite him along, when she saw a figure step in her point of view. Lucius. He was wearing dark robes. His not so kind eyes landed on her and she felt herself freeze up. His gaze was intimidating. 

"Draco," he called sternly to his son. "Let's go. We wouldn't want to be accused of being involved, would we?"

Draco's eyes flickered from his father's to ___'s. He smiled sadly and nodded to her, keeping his jaw tight as he turned away and walked in the opposite direction. She sighed and turned back to the Weasleys, who watched as the Malfoys disappeared in the shadows. 

"Accused?" she muttered. "Who accused them?"

"Harry and Ron, of course," Bill informed her. "Said they saw Draco hanging around and his father nowhere to be found." He put his hand on her shoulder and nodded for his brothers to start ahead. "This way, everyone." 

Of course Potter would blame Draco. It was the first thing he ever did in a time such as an accident in Hogwarts or an unsolved mystery in the Wizarding World. He couldn't seem to understand that Draco was just a boy, not so different from him, even. Still, ___ shivered, thinking of how similar Lucius Malfoy's robes were to those the Death Eaters wore.