𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬, 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 • (𝐝.𝐦.)

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲-𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞

♔

I grew paler than before. I felt sick to my stomach, and no longer felt like eating. My dad was a Death Eater. A follower of the darkest wizard ever known.

"But what about Draco? Why's he nowhere to be found, his dad, is the one too?"

"It's Lucius Malfoy, of course he is," Blaise scoffed, and I bit my tongue, not wanting to get into his attitude right now.

"You say that like it's obvious," I said, not at all amused. 

"His aunt is Bellatrix Lestrange. You'd think the whole family was a bunch of followers, but not yet. Draco hasn't yet-" 

"Yet?" I demanded, but Blaise's mouth shut almost inhumanly quickly. 

He didn't say a word, and this only confirmed my suspicions. "You're kidding," I blurted, disbelieving the awful words that had left his mouth. 

Draco was going to become a Death Eater? It couldn't be true, could it?

"Maggie, let me explain. His whole family is putting a lot of pressure on him, and he just wants to please them," Blaise said, but I was quite honestly feeling dizzy over this whole encounter. 

"I- I think I need some air," I said hazily. 

"I'll come with you," Blaise offered, but I shook my head. "No, I'll go alone. Thanks," I said, leaving the kitchen hurriedly and navigating my way back into the main ballroom. I then went into an empty hallway on the right, away from all the people, and I followed it. 

I walked down the length of it, eventually coming to an indoor courtyard with a fountain in the middle that was lined with glass doors on the right that I could exit through. 

I came out into a garden with step leading down into the depths of it, and I sat down there, collecting my thoughts. 

All of this was so overwhelming. 

My dad was a Death Eater, and I had no idea. What else was he lying to me about? He had told me all his life he worked for the Ministry of Magic, what if that was a lie too? 

Why did we have to move to America, and then suddenly be granted the ability to come back just as the Dark Lord reemerged here? It was all coming together in my head, all the pieces latching onto one another amongst the intricate puzzle in my brain. 

The puzzle that was forming a clear picture. 

Fabian Warrington, my dad, was not the man I thought he was. 

I saw another fountain and became intrigued by it. I got up slowly off the steps as I crouched on and walked to the fountain that had captivated my attention. 

I looked over it, seeing my reflection and not liking it at all. 

I grappled with the ties and strings in my hair, eventually undoing the delicate updo and letting my hair loose once more. 

Once free of its bindings, my hair blew around me as a breeze braced the garden. My dark black locks blurred my vision and prevented me from realizing that someone else was out here with me. 

I turned around, feeling the uneasy sensation of someone's eyes on me, and saw the platinum blonde boy that now racked me with fear rather than excitement. 

"Draco," I said rather dumbly, not knowing what else to say after learning about his relationship with the Dark Lord. His partnership. His loyalty. 

"Maggie. You look... well, you look beautiful," He said. I bit down on the inside of my cheek hard as his words tumbled out of his mouth and joyously into my ears. I couldn't be happy about this right now, not when I knew what I knew. 

"Thank you," I said, not furthering the conversation. I turned back around, my back to him, and faced the fountain again, looking into the water. 

"That's it?" He asked, dumbfounded, but I stayed turned around. 

I couldn't face him, it hurt too much. 

He wasn't the boy he thought I was, and to be honest, I didn't know what he was capable of. It didn't occur to me until right then that the man he was going to be following was literally the worst wizard on Earth. 

"I don't have much to say," I said. 

"Are you cold?" He asked. I shook my head, lying. I was actually really cold, but I could endure it for the time being. 

"Your entire back is exposed, and it's December. There's no way that's true," He chuckled, and I cursed myself for loving the sound. 

I heard rustling behind me, and soon he was closer. Before I knew what was happening, he had taken his jacket off and tried to drape it on my shoulders. However, letting my fight or flight kick in and get the better of me, I flinched violently at his touch.

"What's the matter with you?" He asked, stepping away from me, his face painted with hurt. "You're acting as if I'd hurt you!" 

"I- I don't think- I mean... I don't know if..." 

"Maggie, spit it out," He said harshly, a defensive scowl now resting on his face. 

"Don't become a Death Eater," I said, face blank and out of energy to hide what I was feeling in the moment. His face went sort of blank too. 

He certainly wasn't expecting me to say something like that. 

He looked behind him frantically, then took my wrist harshly and walked me ferociously away from the garden, out of the stone walls and into the decorative hedge maze behind the mansion. 

He said nothing as he pulled me along, and eventually, my wrist began to get sore. 

"Draco," I started, trying to get his attention, but he ignored me. 

"Draco... DRACO-" 

"WHAT?" He snapped, yelling at me harshly, and I stopped speaking in utter shock. 

"You're hurting me," I said, choking on the sobs prepared to come from my throat. I was never usually one to cry, but he was terrifying me at this moment. 

He looked at me, his eyes flickering wildly from my face to my wrist, and when he let go, redness formed where his vice grip once was. 

"I didn't mean to hurt you... I really didn't mean to hurt you," He said, sounding borderline hysterical. 

I rubbed my arm, and he looked back at the mansion fearfully. 

"Let's go," He said as he started walking into the maze. 

There was nothing left to do but follow him. 

So I did. 

♔

omg......... omg omg omg omg. draco is a five letter word that starts with "d" and ends with -"addy".