CURSED [D.M]

-(70) seemed like a monster

DRACO walks up to the Parkinson manor, his head still reeling from the killings he had to watch at the Dark Lord's Lair. All the captives in the dungeons were cut off of their heads, the executioner going through the people like they were mere loaves of bread. The blood pooling at his feet made Draco want to run outside and throw up till his whole body gave out. But he had to remain there with Berling as per Voldemort's orders, though he can't imagine any other reason his presence was necessary rather than the fact that it would traumatize him and that's something Voldemort has taken a liking to these days. "You're supposed to be my right-hand man. You're ought to get used to this", Voldemort had said. But having to get used to watching innocent people get killed or having to do that yourself is definitely not something anyone is prepared for. He walks inside the house, his hands in his pockets, desperately trying to block off the gruesome images from his head. Mercy, Voldemort might claim it to be, but it's honestly just an evil massacre.

He steps into the living room to find Mrs. Parkinson there, immersed in reading The Daily Prophet, but as she sees him in his vision, she puts down the paper and turns to him with a smile. "Good morning, Draco."

"Certainly not, Mrs. Parkinson", he rasps out, failing to even act nice having seen what he has seen. "Where is Pansy?"

"She's upstairs, my dear. She's not had a great morning too, I suppose."

"Why? What happened?"

"Well, she won't say anything. But I suppose you could ask Theo. He's in the kitchen", she says pointing to it before picking the newspaper back up and continuing to read through it like there's one piece of news in that shit that hasn't been censored or written in favor of Voldemort.

Draco makes his way into the kitchen to find Theo making tea. As he sees Draco, he looks at him and smiles, holding up the kettle. "Want some?"

"No, I'm good."

He nods and gets back to it, humming a song under his breath, all jolly and well.

"What happened with Pansy?"

"Ah", Theo mumbles, making a tsk tsk voice as he shakes his head. "Saw someone getting killed. She'll get over it."

"Who?", Draco asks, feeling his throat run dry all of a sudden.

"A little kid that tried to escape us", Theo says, no change in his positive tone or manners.

"Who killed her?"

"Me." He shrugs, his back to Draco as he pours the tea into the teacups. Draco's eyes widen in shock, a chill going down his spine. But as Theo spins around, his smile is still plastered across his face with not a hint of pain or remorse in his eyes. "But Pansy got the credit for it from the Dark Lord." He picks up the tray and walks past Draco who seems to have been rooted to the ground. "Come on, let's go see her now. Although I warn you, she's been a mopping mess ever since we got back."

•

Draco sits in a chair, facing Pansy who is on the bed, her cheeks stained with tears and her eyes empty as she sips the tea Theo made, her hands trembling slightly. Theo patiently stands beside her, his gaze pleasant and comforting as he looks at her. He places his hand on her shoulder, making to caress her. But she flinches and swats his hands away, moving away from him like she's afraid his touch is poison ivy.

Theo sighs and turns to Draco, shaking his head. "I need to be somewhere now. I'll get going."

Draco merely nods at him and watches him walk out the door.

As soon as he's out of sight, Pansy sets the teacup on the table and crawls across the bed, getting closer to Draco as much as she can. The empty look in her eyes is now replaced with terror- a cold, strong terror that makes her lips quiver as she speaks. "Draco.. Theo, he- he.. is not in the right mind."

"What do you mean?", he asks, shifting to the bed and holding her face in his hands carefully and gently. She doesn't flinch away at that. Instead, she leans into it like it's the only comfort she has had in a long long time.

Tears cascade down her face, the pain in her eyes getting more and more pronounced. Her throat holds her words captive as she tries to speak. She has to force them out with much difficulty, her voice barely even a whisper. "He killed her. He killed that little boy-"

"He told me."

Pansy starts shaking convulsively. "No no listen to me."

Draco nods his head and shuts his mouth as he caresses her cheeks, trying to calm her down at least a little. "I am listening."

"I tried to let that kid escape. I tried to help him get away, stumbling down on purpose. But Theo, he came up and despite the fact that my gaze told him what I had intended, he took his wand and sent the killing curse flying at that little boy. Draco, he- he killed him like his life held no value. And what's worse is that he had this smile on his face, Draco. This smile like he enjoyed it. Like he took pleasure in killing someone- a mere kid." She shakes with more fright as she thinks back to the events. Her tears fall even more rapidly and it seems like there's nothing in the world that could pull her out of the pain she is in. "He pulled me up and looked me dead in the eyes with no remorse as he told me I should do better than this- that I shouldn't fail the Dark Lord intentionally. He took the child's body and apparated with me to the Lair and he told him that it was me. The Dark Lord, he rounded about on me, clapping in approval as I stood there, frozen to the ground, my own bile rising up my throat as my eyes bore into Theo's. He held no emotion, Draco. He seemed.. he seemed like a monster."

"He was just trying to keep you safe", Draco says, arriving at no other conclusion. "And the not feeling- maybe that's his way of coping. We know how he drowns away his emotions in alcohol. We know-"

Pansy shakes her head again. "You don't understand", she mutters helplessly. "The Theo I saw there- he was not our Theo, Draco. He was.. he was a pyschopa-", she cuts herself off mid-word, her eyes widening in horror as she looks towards the door.

Draco spins around to see what caused her to. And there's Theo, smiling, his hands folded across his chest. "I nearly forgot", he says, looking at Draco. "The Dark Lord had asked me to get you and investigate a place where he thinks Potter and his friends might have been. Come with me."