Optionless with Draco Malfoy

36. Change

Juliette

I woke up groggily and in a bad mood. 

I remembered that I was meant to invade the Ministry, find Umbridge, and the locket. I was successful in doing so, but the locket wasn't with me. At least I could find peace that the locket was in I did what I wanted to do: invade the Ministry, and find Umbridge and the locket. The locket was in good hands and was going to be destroyed. 

Oddly enough, I feel disappointed and guilty. I know that I should be feeling joyful and happy knowing that the locket was going to be demolished, but I don't. Something inside of me wants to be in possession of the locket. I want to destroy it myself. I suppose it was meant to mark the beginning of my owed debt. 

Getting rid of the locket would not only bring the Wizarding World one step closer to killing Voldemort, but it would have helped me in a way, fulfilling that feeling that made me feel so empty.

I laid in bed, contemplating my thoughts. Everything I had done at the Ministry was pointless. Everything, going there, trying to get the locket, everything. Harry, Ron, and Hermione have the locket. 

I constantly reminded myself that it was in good hands. Why couldn't I believe it?

Stubbornly, I got out of bed, brushed my teeth, and changed. Then, I walked to the kitchen, rubbing my eyes. To my surprise, Draco and my aunt were in the middle of a conversation. I wondered if he stayed the night... 

"Morning," I said tiredly, pouring myself a cup of tea.

Draco rushed over to me and hugged me. I was astonished that he was so quick to embrace me. " What the hell happened at the Ministry? You Apparated back and passed out," he said sternly. Then, quietly in my ear, he said, "Don't you ever, scare me like that again."

I held onto him longer than he expected. I buried my face into his chest and took in his scent. I released Draco, and then sat down at the table.

My aunt cleared her throat and said, "Juliette, how are you-"

I cut her off, "It was all pointless. Everything we did was all for nothing," I put my arms down on the table and laid head first into them. Before I had sat down, I had a whole rant ready, but as I crumbled to the chair, it was all forgotten.

Both of them stared at me unsure of what to say.

"I wasn't the only who used the Polyjuice Potion. Harry, Hermione, and Ron were in the same courtroom and got to the locket first. Yaxley got a hold of me. He knew that I was snooping around."

Draco furrowed his eyebrows and immediately became worried, "Did he touch you? Did he hurt you? I swear-"

I inhaled a large gasp of air, "Well, he nearly splinched me while I was using Floo Powder, but he got Ron badly. Harry pulled this act and stunned Umbridge. They got the locket first and then Dementors chased us into the lift. All of the guards were after us, and I had no choice but to follow them to wherever they were going. They're somewhere in the woods."

My aunt began to make some tea, "It wasn't pointless, Jul. Now you know the locket is somewhere safe. You can count on Harry, Ron, and Hermione that it will be destroyed. You may not think of it as anything, but it's a step closer. A step closer to getting rid of You-Know-Who. It's progress, Jul, you should be glad."

I sighed, "I just thought that after everything that we went through, I would've made a difference in doing something good. All I've done is serve bloody Volde-"

Draco cast a silencing charm on me, "His name is tabooed. Snatchers will come if you say his name."

I scoffed and shook my head, "That's not useful. What good will that do? So, what do we do now?"

"We wait," my aunt answered.

"You expect me to wait?" I asked in utter disbelief. "You-Know-Who is getting stronger and more powerful by the second!"

Aunt Myra sighed, "I know you don't want to wait, but the Ministry is infiltrated with Death Eaters and Snatchers. The Wizarding World is no longer safe. All we can do is wait, and when the battle begins then we'll fight back."

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Draco

Months passed and to the Wizarding World, Juliette Trails was nowhere to be found. When the summer ended, the Dark Lord killed Scrimgeour (who was the Minister of Magic). He has been replaced with Thicknesse, who is a Death Eater. Death Eaters took over the Ministry, which meant hell had risen. Not until students arrived at Hogwarts, the new teachers and Headmaster were kept hidden. 

Snape was made Headmaster, and the Carrow siblings (Amycus and Alecto) took the new positions at Hogwarts.

When the term began, families were furious, but Snape did not allow them to remove their children from Hogwarts. He blocked all passages and banned Hogsmeade visits.

The Defense Against the Dark Arts class became Dark Arts. It was more so, the Carrows teaching students dark magic and practicing it on one another. The Cruciatus curse became a norm and was constantly used as punishment.

Hogwarts was no longer welcoming and bright, it was dark and somber. Students had an early curfew and couldn't speak to each other in the corridors. Anyone who was found past curfew was given a painful detention with the Carrows. Slytherin students were treated better than any other house and the favouritism was quite obvious. Slytherins were never sent to detention and we never were punished. We also had our own common room, and dorms, whereas all the other houses were just combined in the Gryffindor one.

Longbottom was the Carrows favourite student to torture. One day, he spoke up for some first year and that pissed off the Carrows. He was put in detention with them and the following day, he was bruised and had cuts all over his face and neck.

Even for the professors, it wasn't safe. Snape was in control of most of it and didn't stop. The professors I was taught by years ago, weren't the same. They all seemed overly stressed and fearful of everything that was going on.

The Carrows respected me a little bit more since I was a Death Eater and I had privileges of using the Floo powder if the Dark Lord called me.

Students at Hogwarts were no longer joyful and happy. Everyone had long tiresome faces, some which had been scratched and bruised. It was almost like dementors had sucked the life and soul out of Hogwarts.

The school I went to before, was not the same. Nothing was as organized as before. It made me feel remorse because Dumbledore was gone. When he died, everything changed. It was like the Wizarding World was set to be doomed without him.

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Juliette

The days at my aunt's flat were becoming longer each day. I didn't get to see Draco as often since he was busy at Hogwarts. He barely got to write to me, and when he did, it was short, since the Ministry monitored letters.

I was happy that he wasn't given any tough task to do. I mean, both of us could nearly finish the one we were assigned together. Anyway, not having a task was much safer, less chance of death. I missed him, I began to become quite lonely.

The last time I talked to him was during Christmas, and he said that Hogwarts was no longer the same, ever since the Carrows became professors. To sum it all up, the siblings loved punishment.

My main entertainment came from Krogee, the stubborn house-elf. Even he had a more busy life than me; he got to Apparate around with my aunt.

Although, over the weeks of spending time with Krogee, he taught me a few things. While he stayed at the Malfoy Manor, he told me that there was this floorboard where he would hide out from the Malfoys. For his days of being 'missing', it was where he lived before he got the courage to escape.

I thought about going there, to the Manor, but there was no use. I was still hiding from my parents and for the months I had been gone, I was successful. I wondered if they gave up. I didn't really care if they did or did not, I wanted to be away from them. They were the reason why I had a skull and snake inked on my left forearm. I had a right to be angry.