𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐖𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐆 - 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐟𝐨𝐲 (𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝟑)

17 - Breaking Point

Every breath had left my lungs.

My vision blurred with tears, but they wouldn't fall.

My hands were shaking.

And my knees buckled beneath me.

I crumpled onto the ground, still in Fred's grasp. He didn't say anything, he just held me. I couldn't stop staring at his body. "We need to move it," Mr. Weasley whispered, tears brimming his eyes. Everyone stood in silence, the smoke stinging my nostrils. Ginny began to cry, crumbling down next to me.

Eventually, all of us were on the ground, sobbing in silence. Mr. Weasley and Lupin picked him up. "Don't look," Fred held my head against his chest, my eyes shut tightly.

This was my breaking point. "Who did it?" I screamed. They all just stared at me. "Please, please just tell me," I sobbed.

I already knew the answer.

Fred held me as my screams filled the air; I couldn't stop, not even hours later when my voice had stripped itself down to the point where I couldn't speak. Fred sat with me as dawn approached, Lupin and the others putting out the flames.

The sun began to rise, Molly and Ron rummaging through the debris, searching for keepsakes and other items that had been prized possessions to them.

I tried to stand, Fred helping me up, but I ran into the fields, vomiting into the grass, bile burning in my raw throat.

Mrs. Weasley, Lupin and Mr. Weasley would stay to search through the house, while Tonks apparated the rest of us back to her and Lupin's home. Ginny lay in Harry's arms on the couch in the living room, Ron stared off into the sunrise on the porch, Tonk's baby boy laid in her arms, while Fred and I sat on the bathroom floor.

"I probably look bloody stupid," I joked, despite the sobs in my chest. Sweat beads formed on my forehead, my hair in a messy ponytail, my voice croaky and barely audible. "You look fine, don't worry about it," he smiled sympathetically as I leaned over to throw up again. "You don't have to stay you know," I sighed, flushing the toilet, shutting my eyes as I leaned my head against the wall.

"I don't want you to be alone," he said. "Why do so many people tell me that?" I rolled my eyes. "You're overly independent sometimes," he smiled. "Well happy bloody Christmas to me," I stood, rinsing my mouth out with water in the sink.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled. "Stop saying that," I snapped at him. "Sorry, it's just, I don't like when people say that to me," I sat back down. "Understandable," he sighed.

DRACO'S POV

I'd returned home for Christmas, locking myself in my room as usual. My ring was glowing all of Christmas night; I wondered why. I hoped she was okay. My Father couldn't tell me anything as he was still in Azkaban. My mother knocked on the door.

"Why did you lie to me?" she asked, sitting down next to me on my bed. "What are you talking about?" I asked. "That day in Diagon Alley, you said that girl wasn't the Bellegreen girl. Severus sent me a picture, Draco. It's her," she sighed. "Maybe I just didn't see her right, I don't know," I stuttered. "Her Father's just been killed, I got the news," she placed a hand on my shoulder.

My chest began to tighten. First, her Mother, now her Father? "Draco, are you alright?" she asked, placing a hand on my back. I buried my face in my hands. We sat in silence, as I tried to hold back tears.

"Can I tell you a secret?" "What?" I choked.

"I was best friends with the girl's mother during my time at Hogwarts. She's a spitting image of her mother. I don't want this to happen as much as you do, I just want to know why, Draco. I know it's more than not wanting to kill a student, I can see it in your eyes," she said quietly.

"You were friends with her mother?" I asked. "Yes, I was, before we were forced apart by The Dark Lord," she sighed. "So tell me, why you won't do it."

Because I'm in love with her. But no, I couldn't say that. God, what was there to say? How the bloody hell do I explain this? I didn't want to. I decided to share a memory. It would be easier. I picked up my wand, extracting my favorite from my mind.

Us laying in the gardens, the blue butterfly, her eyes, the way she looked at me. The memory that took place on her Mother's death anniversary. The memory I held closest to my heart.

My Mother took it from me, placing it inside of a small clear bottle. I followed her to the pensieve that sat in Dad's now abandoned office. She poured the memory inside, placing her face in the cool water. I curled up in the large office chair, nervous to how she would react.

Tears streamed down her face as she pulled away, looking into my eyes. "Draco, I'm so sorry..." her voice was quiet, nearly at a whisper. She sat down next to me. I didn't say anything. "For how long?" she placed a hand on mine. "Since fourth year," I managed to whisper.

"I just can't imagine what she must be going through right now," my voice faltered as we sat in the cold, dark room. "You know what will happen if you don't do it, Draco," she whispered. "I can't, I just can't do it," I began to cry. "I understand, but-"

"No you don't, you were forced to marry Lucius, you didn't fall in love with him, you tolerated him. There's a difference, such a big difference. Don't think I don't notice how peaceful you think it is when he isn't here, how you have the house to just you and I while he's locked away somewhere. I can see that," I yelled.

"Draco-"

"How would she feel? How would she feel, huh? Your best friend is dead, and you're going to honor her memory by making your son kill her only daughter? How do you think she feels?" I was nearly screaming at this point.

A tear ran down her face as she left me in his office, curled up in silence.