As I walked down the empty concrete pathway leading away from the manor and towards the large black gates, there was a burst of air, my clothes flapping in the wind. Draco Malfoy appeared, and I smacked right into his hard chest. Pain exploded into my face as I grabbed my nose, stepping back and mumbling a string of curses.
"You're a blooming idiot, Steele."
"You broke my nose!" I yelled.
"It's not broken!"
"It probably looks all crooked and ugly," I whined.
"Well, that's nothing new," he smirked, and I gathered all my strength to punch him in the arm. "Oi, no need to get violent!"
I sneered at him. "What are you going to do about it?"
"Maybe I'll hit you back."
"You wouldn't dare hit a helpless little girl," I said, batting my eyelashes innocently.
"You didn't seem so helpless in there," he said, pointing towards the manor. "You've got yourself a death wish. This is a suicide mission. You—"
"I'm good friends with Harry Potter. I've got this under control."
"Do you know where he is?" Malfoy asked me, crossing his arms over his chest.
I hesitated. ". . . No."
"Do you know how to find him?"
"No! But that's besides the point. I will find him."
"God, Steele, you have to think these things through!" he said, grabbing my shoulders and giving me a shake. "You can't wing stuff like this. There are no second chances."
I shrugged of his hands. "I know what I'm doing, Malfoy."
"Really? 'Cause to me, it looks like you have no idea what you're playing at."
"Okay," I conceded. "Then help me."
He paused, as if surprised by my request.
"What with?"
"When I find them, how do I call him?"
He blew out through his lips, eyes flicking behind me, checking our surroundings. "Okay. Not here."
He placed one hand on my shoulder, and then we were warping through space.
⚡️⚡️⚡️
We landed in the middle of a forest, leaves crunching under our shoes.
"So, the Dark Mark is under something similar to the Protean Charm."
"Right down to business, eh?" I snickered, and he shot me a look. "Sorry. The Protean Charm—so it's the one Hermione used in our fifth year on the Galleons to tell us where Dumbledore's Army was meeting? You know, the one you tried so hard to bust?"
He rolled his eyes.
"Yes, similar to it. A sister spell, if you may. All you have to do it touch your wand to the mark and say the incantation, and it'll send your location to everyone."
"What's the incantation?"
"Signum Tenebris," he muttered under his breath, as if afraid he'd accidentally call the one person he was most afraid of. "Use it only when you are sure that you've backed Potter in a corner. He's as slippery as an eel; he'll find a way out of any situation."
"Got it."
"You have my ring?" he asked.
I slid my hand into my pocket, feeling the cool, silver metal brush against my hand. I nodded.
"Okay." He bit the inside of his lip. "You're a pain."
"Aw, aren't you darling," I crooned, patting his cheek. Suddenly, he reached up, grabbing my wrist. My hand froze in midair.
"Stop fooling around," he chided. "Now, think. Do you have any idea where Potter and his cronies might be headed?"
I felt my face turn warm, and I yanked my hand back, rubbing my wrist, trying to play off my embarrassment as annoyance.
"They may be trying to find a certain sword." He cocked an eyebrow. "The Sword of Gryffindor," I clarified.
"Impossible. They can't get their hands on that," he shook his head.
"Why not?"
"Because Bellatrix has it locked up in a vault in Gringotts. It is literally impossible to break in there—no one has done it before. Granger's smart, she'll know they have no chance, and they would've figured it out by now. So, on to the next clue."
I racked my brains for a hint, a memory, anything.
I let out an exasperated breath.
"Nothing. I have nothing."
"Where did you last meet them?"
"Some campsite in the middle of nowhere. According to Yaxley, they were last spotted at Godric's Hollow."
"Great. Let's go there," he said, holding out an arm.
This took me by surprise. "You're coming with me?" I asked.
He rolled his eyes. "Don't let this get to your head, sweetheart. I need to find Potter, and if you're my only chance to find him and destroy him, putting an end to this war, so be it."
I mumbled something under my breath, hooking my arm into his. We disapparated towards the birthplace of Harry Potter, and the place of Voldemort's initial demise.
We apparated onto the empty streets of the small town, and immediately, an icy chill ran up my spine.
"I have a bad feeling about this place," I said quietly.
"We just got here Steele. It hasn't even been a whole second."
I squeezed his arm, holding tight when he tried to pull away. "It's eerie."
He sighed. "Alright, Steele. Keep moving."
We made our way through the silent town, looking for someone, anyone to talk to. We walked past houses and stores, but all were closed and locked shut, no one to be seen.
Walking past a graveyard, I tugged on Malfoy's arm.
"Look." Pointing to the headstones, I read aloud the names.
"James and Lily Potter. Harry's parents, buried here."
Malfoy was quiet. His eye had caught something, and he slipped out of my grasp, making his way towards it. I followed him.
Malfoy stopped at a tombstone.
"Look," he pointed. "It's been touched recently."
Sure enough, a thin layer of snow and dust had been pushed off the top, leaving clean, carved stone behind.
"Whose grave is this?" I asked.
"Ignotus Peverell's. Do you recall anything associated with that name?"
I shook my head.
"Look. The symbol. What is that?" It was a triangle with a line and a circle in the center. "It looks so familiar."
