Ruthless : d.malfoy [ REWRITING ]

PART 38

IN  the two weeks that had passed , Draco had never more doubted Evanna's words. He wished to believe her , believe her when she said she had detention , when she said that she had homework to do. She always disappeared without a trace , and returned hours later. During his patrols , he oft found her figure vanish down the hallways , towards the dungeons in the dread of the night. Somedays , they would patrol together - but on the days she did not have to go on Prefect rounds , he still found her lingering in the shadows of the corridor , her lavendar scent distinct in the tepid air.

He sat at dinner , silver fork wearily picking against the scraps of elf-made food lying unfinished upon a varnished plate. His ashen eyes danced towards the sparse crowd around him , most of the students slowly dispersing towards their respective common rooms , eager to rest for the night. Above him , dainty stars slowly appeared as the blue haze of day lifted itself from the moors , darkness creeping into whole and coiling itself around the castle on the hills as lithe as a rattlesnake. The stars tumbled into the black marble of the acrid heavens , entire galaxies housing millions of tales , morphing into mere whispers of the wind before it reached human ears.

A reminder of the tiny share he , and everyone else around him , had in the universe.

Draco watched through his peripheral vision , smiling lightly as Evanna came into his line of vision. She smiled at him , a genuine gesture , leaning close as their lips touched. He drowned himself into the taste of honey , and lavender - and she felt him smile into the kiss , their hands entwining , her fingers soft as cotton.

As Evanna retracted , and sat back - his soft smile widened , for spending time with her was perhaps , the most significant memory of his inching days.

They talked , discussing matters of everyday life - even the most useless ones , just to distract themselves from the evil that was tying itself slowly into the wizarding world. One could see it in the greys that had replaced the vibrant shades of Diagon Alley , and the dull colours that melted into the winter snow which were put in place of the signature summer hues of Hogsmeade.

"I need to leave , see you tomorrow", Evanna spoke after a few minutes had passed , glancing at her watch , before swiftly pecking his cheek and standing up.

"Why so ?"

"I am feeling quite weary , love", Evanna said , smiling at him one last time and greeting him 'goodnight' before disappearing into the black-robed crowd of students exiting the Great Hall.

He could not fathom why Evanna chose to lie.

Or was he being paranoid ? Maybe she wasn't as emotionally invested in their relationship as he was ? Or maybe she was truly tired ?

Did she not trust him with whatever secrets she carried around with herself - the reason for her untimely disappearances , the scars on her body that he knew she concealed with glamour charms and her lies ?

"Of course not , darling. Why would I ever lie to you ?" , she would say whenever he enquired.

                                                                ________________________

Evanna Frey lived to lie , but not to the boy with moondust eyes.

Even though her innards were crumbling with frustration at herself , she drew in a breath. Obsidian darkness surrounded her , speckles of dust visible in the tepid air that absorbed any form of light. The walls were blackened by the falling ashes from the torches that hung in the corners . She stood in front of an old , leaning cabinet - once pristine , but bent with time.

Evanna held a worn curse-breaking book between her fingers , the same one she had used to add her name into the goblet of fire two years prior. Her eyes scanned the pages , the rings underneath them deeper due to the evident lack of sleep , looking for a spell to repair the cabinet.

So far , she had breached nothing but failure.

The cabinet had a curse on it , causing it's path to shift - thus breaking the connection between itself and the Vanishing Cabinet at Borgin and Burke's. If she failed to remove the curse already placed on it - she would not be able to repair it , and the link between both cupboards would not be restored.

To think that she was helping his cult to infiltrate a castle full of underage witches and wizards who knew hardly anything about truly protecting themselves in the face of danger. It disgusted her , burned her insides to rust , and she could not wrap her head around the fact that she had sunk so low. Death-Eaters had always been known to pick on the weak. But she would help them anyways.

All to save the boy with mercury eyes. But it would be worth all the efforts in the end.

"Aperta" , She whispered , closing her eyes and focusing on the thin wisp of silver that connected the two cabinets to each other. Evanna concentrated , and yet - she failed when she placed an old trinket inside and it did not disappear , signifying that the connection was yet not repaired.

With frustration , she threw the book away - the latter landing with a thud a feet away from her - and Evanna ran her hands through her hair , contemplating on what she should do , and what she shouldn't.

She just wished that life had been simpler , a life where she could make beautiful friendships and love Draco without having to lie. Then immediately shook herself for thinking of such thoughts. She would not have been a Frey if her life had been simpler , she would not have been as intelligent as she was now , nor have the power she held.

But did power really matter in the ultimatum of time ? 

Every great empire had fallen , crumbled to the ground - then what was the use ?

"What the fuck am I thinking" , Evanna cursed , before her eyes flitted towards the book. It's spine had come loose , the binding was broken - and the pages had come loose. Nothing a little repairing charm couldn't fix , but that was not what had caught the Ravenclaw's eye.

No , it was one of the loose pages that had slitted out of the worn book of curses. She crouched down , picking the yellowed parchment up - observing the inked words upon the crinkles of the age-old paper. Evanna brushed her fingers against a particular spell.

Aedifico.

It was a charm to build objects , similar to Reparo - but instead of repairing a merely broken object , this spell could erect something completely new out of raw materials.

Maybe , she needn't break the curse on the Vanishing Cabinet. Maybe , Evanna simply had to establish a new line of connection between the two cabinets.

With this epiphany , she turned towards the dark piece of furniture once more , wand held firmly as she began asserting ,"Aedifico."

[ a/n : don't come at me , please. i was busy , and we have exams ( again ) in two weeks. more updates from now , we are almost reaching the end. 

with all my heart , 

orphic_moon ]