Under the Willow Tree | Draco Malfoy

chapter 60: they cannot find her

Draco Malfoy | Summer after 6th Year

He stared up at the looming Malfoy Manor with an odd sense of dread consuming him. Sure, his dad was still off in Azkaban, but his home had become a boarding house for evil since he'd been here last, and he wasn't exactly ready for the destruction and darkness sure to be still be lurking in his home.

However, according to the latest note from his mum, Voldemort and the death eaters had moved their headquarters to the Davies Manor. He had offered it to them should anything ever happen to him, so Briar's house was now crawling with the evil that his house was just consumed by.

Everything about the manor seemed to sag now. It was as if the presence of evil had sucked every last drop of life from the area, and nothing about it felt familiar anymore. It was a hollow replica of the horror house he grew up in, but at least the monsters were no longer poisoning the air.

Narcissa opened the door and rushed Draco inside a moment later. She locked and bolted the door behind him. There were nearly ten of the Muggle-made contraptions there, and she used her wand to cast all of the strongest locking spells she knew.

Once all of that was done, she took a deep breath and turned to face her son. Draco and Narcissa stared at one another unsurely for a moment before she let out a relieved cry and stepped forward to embrace Draco.

He froze. It was rare for him to hear his mother cry. Most emotion was squashed in this house, and Narcissa had always been one of the best at maintaining her stoicism.

"I am so relieved that you're safe. You have no idea how worried I've been since Dumbledore's death," Narcissa confessed in a quiet cry.

Draco thought bitterly that even his mother's big displays of emotion were quiet, restrained, and controlled.

"I worried about you constantly. Are you safe now?" Draco asked and finally pulled back from Narcissa.

She wiped away her tears and straightened her back suddenly. She nodded. "Of course, Draco. I apologize for that unruly display. I assure you that I am perfectly well now that you are safe beside me again."

Draco nodded. "Are they going to return here?"

"No. They've taken over the Davies Manor in Gideon's absence."

"And Briar?"

"They cannot find her," Narcissa said.

"Good."

Narcissa nodded stiffly and took Draco's trunk down the hall. Draco grimaced once he realized he was alone in the foyer. He hated being alone in Malfoy Manor, for that was always when terrible things happened.

"I didn't complete my task. I never meant to risk your safety, but I couldn't let so many students get hurt if I finished that gateway to the school," Draco said after he joined his mother in the kitchen once again.

"I know... You're braver than I would have been at your age." Narcissa blinked hard. She squared her shoulders and gave Draco a stiff smile again.

"We think Blaise might have finished my work. He's been gone since that night, but it doesn't appear that he was hurt in any way."

Draco's explanations were cold and blunt, but it was the way he and Narcissa had always spoken. It had only started to feel odd to him now, after seeing how Lorelei and Gran had interacted at Christmas.

Narcissa stayed quiet for his claims, but her slight stiffening confirmed his suspicions.

"We think someone else came through the portal before Bellatrix and all of them. He wasn't supposed to be there, and we can't think of another way for him to have gotten through. Blaise was the first to find him when he was attacking L-a friend of mine." Draco coughed in a failed attempt to cover up his mistake.

Narcissa whirled around from the cabinet where she had been fetching cups for tea. She dropped one of them, and a small chip bounced from the side of the china. She didn't bother to inspect the damage. Instead, she stared at Draco with a mixture of horror and joy. The emotion was so intense for her that she couldn't help how her eyes momentarily glazed over.

"You've found your soulmate," she breathed with the ghost of a smile on her face.

Draco stiffened, unsure what to say. Of course he trusted his mother, but he didn't want the information to be used against her if it came down to it.

"Don't tell me their name, but I want to know about them... Are they strong?"

"She is one of the strongest people I've ever met. Her resilience is inspiring," Draco whispered while staring at his feet.

"Is she intelligent?"

"She's absolutely brilliant."

He thought of the countless nights they spent discussing topics that were well above his understanding. While he was struggling to grasp the concepts, she talked about them with ease, as if they were as simple as what to eat for breakfast the next day.

"...Is she kind to you?"

"Of all of her traits, her kindness shines the brightest," Draco confessed with a frown. As much as he loved to talk about Lorelei, the reminder that they were apart was not one he enjoyed. He was counting down the days until he would see her again. Assuming all was well, they had plans to meet up in two weeks at he gran's.

"I hope to meet her after the war, but you keep her far from here until then," Narcissa told him sternly. She lifted a finger as if to scold him, and her expression was firm, but Draco didn't need this reminder. He would never let Lorelei get anywhere near the tumultuous misery that was Malfoy Manor.

"Of course, mother."

Draco glided from the room silently. He made his way up the stairs to his room, instinctively avoiding the creakiest parts of the floor and lurking in the shadows as much as possible. It was an old habit breaking through, one he wasn't sure he would ever break out of, certainly not as long as his father still lived.

When Draco entered his bedroom, he frowned at the familiar chill in the air. This was a ghost house, and if the walls could talk, they'd be shrieking.

//

/AN: LOOK AT THIS COOL GIF I FOUND.

😂 Anyway, enjoy this chapter a little early as I'll be traveling this weekend./