Blinding | Draco Malfoy

thirteen

"How are Fred and George doing it?" Hermione asked as they had just exited their new shop, Wealseys' Wizard Wheezes. Diagon Alley was dimly lit and vacant after Death Eaters had attacked it. It was sad to see.

"Half the Alley's closed down." Aurora added.

"Fred reckons people need a laugh these days." Ron shrugged.

"I reckon he's right." Harry said, and they nodded in agreement.

"Oh, no." Hermione lamented as they took in the abandoned shop next to them. The glass was shattered out of the windows, and the place was a mess. "Everyone got their wands from Ollivander's."

"What are we doing?" Aurora asked as they opened the door, walking in. Ron went over to the back window and peeked out.

"You're going to want to see this, Aurora." He said, and she stepped over next to him.

"Draco..." She whispered out as she saw him and his mother standing there.

"Is it just me, or does it look like he and mummy don't want to be followed?" Ron noted as they looked around to make sure no one was looking before heading down Nocturne Alley. The rest of them followed discreetly, spying on them. The alleyway was dark and weird. It felt like they shouldn't be walking down it. There were crazy people, evil people. Finally, they watched as he and Narcissa entered Borgin & Burkes. Aurora watched as he hesitated to follow after his mother. He looked terrible, like he was so sad and exhausted. He didn't look like the Draco she knew, and that's what she was afraid of. As they saw a light flicker on above them, they climbed the roof of the build and peeked down below. They saw a multitude of people entering the building, including Draco and Narcissa. Inside, Draco was taking a look at some kind of... cabinet. His ring-adorned hands grazed over the handles and the wood. Narcissa was speaking to him about something, then kissed his cheek. He didn't seem affected by that at all. He just had a cold, emotionless look in his eyes. All the sudden, they noticed one of the werewolf Death Eaters standing watch, Fenrir Greyback. They quickly hid before he could notice them. But, he was smart. He shut the blinds.

On the train, Luna was passing out Quibblers. Aurora noticed Harry had been staring at something for a while. She finally realized it was Ginny and Dean. He wasn't wearing a happy expression, and that's when she took note of the way they hugged each other at the Burrow when he arrived. Did he have feelings for Ginny? That was new, she never knew.

"So, what was Draco doing with that weird-looking cabinet?" Harry looked over at them, bringing his attention away from the two. "And who were all those people? Don't you see, it was some kind of ceremony, an initiation."

Hermione glanced over at Aurora, who was picking her nails nervously. She hadn't spoken much since she last saw them. "Stop it, Harry. I know where you're going with this."

"It's happened. He's one of them." Harry shook his head.

"One of what?" Ron questioned nonchalantly. They didn't catch on, so maybe she was just convincing herself of things. Maybe he wasn't a Death Eater.

"Harry is under the impression Draco is now a Death Eater." Hermione said with disbelief in her voice. She smiled, brushing it off as a silly idea.

"You're barking." Ron laughed. "What would You-Know-Who want with Malfoy?"

"Well, then, what's he doing in Borgin & Burkes? Browsing for furniture?" Harry scoffed.

"It's a creepy shop, he's a creepy bloke." Ron shrugged.

"Look, his father is a Death Eater. It only makes sense." Harry reasoned, but that wasn't a good reason.

"Harry, that's incredibly insensitive." Aurora shook her head at him. "My father was nothing like the rest of his family. Draco doesn't have to be a Death Eater just because his father is."