You're Safe With Me ( Draco Malfoy )

Chapter Thirty-Five

The intimidatingly large front doors to the manor opened on their own as they approached, with the snatchers and Bellatrix leading the four inside. Bellatrix was now the one holding Harry in a vice-like grip, though it was still rather hard to recognise Harry as his face was still inflated from the spell that Alice had thrown at him.

Internally, she was preparing for seeing Draco again. She knew full well that she wouldn't be able to run to him like she so desperately wanted to, she knew that she couldn't expose their love to the death eaters, but she didn't know if she would be able to act as if she didn't know him.

They were dragged through a stupidly large foyer with marble staircases running up both sides, and Alice thought about how much she'd love to be shown around the incredible house in absolutely any other circumstance. As they walked, she felt something wet run down her face, and quickly realised it was blood from the cut on her cheekbone.

"Hey," She said to the snatcher who was holding both of her hands behind her back, pushing her along. Turning her face, she let the man see the blood. "I've got a tissue in my pocket, can I wipe this?"

The man grunted, letting go of one of Alice's hands. Doing what she said she would (since they had taken her wand anyway) she grabbed the tissue she had stuffed in her pocket, wiping her cheek. However, before she put the tissue back in to her pocket, she pulled the necklace that she wore out of her shirt, so it could easily be seen. It was the necklace that Draco had gotten her for Christmas, the one that resembled the quill that he once gave her well over a year ago. She knew that he'd notice, and hoped that it would show him that her feelings hadn't changed, since she would have to act indifferently towards him.

Shoving the tissue back in her pocket, she put her hand behind her back again allowing the snatcher to restrain her. There really wasn't much point in trying to get away, she was wandless, and doubted she could take everyone in this room out with just her hands.

After making their way down what Alice thought was an unnecessarily long hallway, they reached a massive dining room. Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy stood together, both looking terrible. Lucius looked worse, by miles, in fact, while Narcissa simply looked scared. They resembled prisoners in their own home, it almost made Alice pity them.

Lucius' eyes widened when he saw Alice, never having spoken to her, but recognising her from the wedding. He knew that this was the girl that his son loved, and that his son was on his way to this room right this instant. Although he knew that this spelled trouble, Lucius hoped that his son would be smart enough to act as though he didn't know the girl, for both her protection and his own.

Draco entered through the door on the opposite side of the hall. He was exhausted and confused as to why he was called down here, usually the death eaters left him out of things purposefully, knowing that he didn't support their cause. At first his eyes went to his father, who mouthed two words to him.

"Be calm." Lucius mouthed, which arguably only helped in making Draco more anxious. Looking to behind his parents where the snatchers were, he saw Ron first, and he knew exactly what that meant.

When he saw her he almost started crying tears of joy, his knees nearly gave out from under him. Draco was convinced that the most difficult thing that he had ever had to do in his entire life was not run over to her and embrace her, tell her every single one of the thoughts that he had had about her (there had been a lot). Tell her how she was his last thought when he slept, and his first when he woke. Tell her that she was the reason that he kept going, just for the hope of seeing her again.

As Alice thought he would, he noticed the necklace hanging around her neck, and instantly felt relieved. Draco had been through absolute hell in the past seven months, and on his darkest days had convinced himself that Alice wasn't going to want him anymore. That necklace was a sign that she did, and it was the most relieving thing that he had ever seen.